The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) published a study recommending that children and teens shouldn't box. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/august2911studies.htm Personally, I wouldn't want my kids to box either. Too much risk for injury methinks.
Yeah, I think this is one of those obvious studies just there to bring attention to an issue. Most people know children shouldnt be getting blows to the head. Along those lines though, I wouldnt even want my child participating in football until a more mature age. I think there are cultural delinitations that cause children to get involved in boxing and fighting at a young age. The image that hollywood would have me bring to mind is the impoverished kids that grew up on the "block" that stepped into a gym after getting bullied all the time. Dont know how acurate that is, but Im just trying to see if maybe it is a local thing. Like most of us would never take our kids out hunting gators in a swamp, but I can see that happening as somewhat of a rite of passage in some southern places as a local cultural thing.
I think it is a bad idea for kids to do boxing. Concussions could adversely affect their skull. A child's skull is probably not as resilient as an adult's skull. Kids should stay away from sports that can cause too much head trauma.
Any sport can be risky for people of any age, but with the proper equipment and training you can limit these risks. I believe that if kids have the proper training and are in a good environment then they will be fine. Teaching kids safety and the value of sportsmanship is a great asset of boxing and sports in general.
I want to try boxing, but I am VERY afraid of getting my teeth knocked out, or having brain damage from all the hits I take over time. So I don't really know what to do. And no, I wouldn't let my children box, there are a lot safer alternatives if they want to be active.
