Doctors call for law banning child boxers

[webfact]

Doctors call for law banning child boxers

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION

 

File photo// The Nation Photo

 

INTERNATIONAL paediatricians say getting children to box professionally is the worst type of child abuse, and called on Thai lawmakers to pass a law banning children under the age of 12 from the boxing ring in order to prevent them from suffering long-lasting brain injuries.

 

 

The 13th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion held on Tuesday revealed that unless the amendment banning children under 12 from participating in boxing matches becomes law soon, some 3 per cent of the new generation will grow up with learning disabilities. 

 

As the new Boxing Bill continues being dragged in Parliament, Dr Liviu Vedrasco, a programme officer at World Health Organisation (Thailand), said banning the sport among children below 12 was necessary because not only does it have a long-term impact on brain development, it is also a very serious case of child labour. 

 

“Child boxing is totally unacceptable, as it is the worst form of child abuse and needs to end now,” Vedrasco stressed.

 

“These child boxers are encouraged by their parents and boxing camps to fight each other to earn money for their family and generate income for the camp. Gamblers also bet on them. This deplorable practice continues despite the fact that the sport damages the children’s still-developing brain and leaves them with incurable learning disabilities and other physical and mental health impacts for the rest of their lives.” 

 

Hence, he said, the Boxing Bill needs to be passed as soon as possible so children can be protected from harm and not taken advantage of. 

 

 

Dr Gary A Smith, a child health expert from Child Injury Prevention Alliance in the United States, also pointed out that many studies vividly verify that brain injuries from boxing lead to serious health-related consequences. 

 

Dr Jiraporn Laothamatas, Ramathibodi Hospital’s Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Centre director and neuro-radiologist, explained that brain injuries sustained by children lowers their IQ and increases the risk of them suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s later in life. 

 

“Remember that children are the future of our society. Imagine what will happen if 300,000 children, who are child boxers today, lose out on opportunities due to learning disabilities caused by brain damage at a very early age,” Jirapon said. 

 

However, she said, since Thai boxing is a national sport and part of Thailand’s cultural heritage, children below the age of 12 should not be total banned from boxing. 

 

Instead, she said, they could learn the sport using proper safety equipment, but not be allowed from actual boxing matches until they are old enough. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30358121

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-11-08

[stanleycoin]

Totally agree. get it done. 

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by stanleycoin

[HappyAndRich]

Should have been done long time ago. They are children, not boxers. They should be raised to play and not fight.

[mok199]

Sad to see this , these kids are so passionate about this sport they live and breath it,they train hard and are the warriors in the ring, I guess now they will have more free time to get fat and play mindless games on their phones  .like the rest of the lost boys of Thailand...IMHO the use of feet should be banned...just allow tradtitional ''bOXING''..

Edited November 7, 2018 by mok199

[Topdoc]

It is utterly deplorable that child boxing was not banned years ago. All these things add up to show the true colours of the nation to the outside world.

[kannot]

Nah Id  rate teaching /instilling  religion is far far worse child abuse overall  although neither are  good yet no one kicks  up much of a fuss about religions  child abuse.

Never ceases to  amaze  me that you are "born" a muslim/christian/jew etc all equally abhorrent child abuse.

[kannot]

23 minutes ago, mok199 said:

Sad to see this , these kids are so passionate about this sport they live and breath it,they train hard and are the warriors in the ring, I guess now they will have more free time to get fat and play mindless games on their phones  .like the rest of the lost boys of Thailand...IMHO the use of feet should be banned...just allow tradtitional ''bOXING''..

They could easily switch to another physical activity

[HappyAndRich]

22 minutes ago, mok199 said:

Sad to see this , these kids are so passionate about this sport they live and breath it,they train hard and are the warriors in the ring, I guess now they will have more free time to get fat and play mindless games on their phones  .like the rest of the lost boys of Thailand...IMHO the use of feet should be banned...just allow tradtitional ''bOXING''..

So, if your child is very passionate about bonking his head in the wall as hard as he can, when he is not happy with you. Then that´s ok? Must be same thing like getting hard kicks and hits on the head at a low age, right?

[mok199]

12 minutes ago, HappyAndRich said:

So, if your child is very passionate about bonking his head in the wall as hard as he can, when he is not happy with you. Then that´s ok? Must be same thing like getting hard kicks and hits on the head at a low age, right?

NO..one is a sign of mental a disorder the other is a sport..you choose which is which..have a good one sir

[mok199]

14 minutes ago, kannot said:

They could easily switch to another physical activity

mabey he or she could do several activities . Thais are capable of multi tasking and making choices...have a good one sir

[PatOngo]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

This deplorable practice continues despite the fact that the sport damages the children’s still-developing brain and leaves them with incurable learning disabilities and other physical and mental health impacts for the rest of their lives.” 

IMHO the education system and ruling body have a similar effect!

[HappyAndRich]

16 minutes ago, mok199 said:

NO..one is a sign of mental a disorder the other is a sport..you choose which is which..have a good one sir

It was not the difference of two two that was relevant, but I somehow knew you would miss that.

It was condoning the result of the circumstance, as you do in the sport, that leads to the same result. Remember? Brain damage.

And condoning that is what you do with your comments. Do not miss the relevance next time, please. You go ahead and have a good one too.

[mok199]

18 minutes ago, HappyAndRich said:

It was not the difference of two two that was relevant, but I somehow knew you would miss that.

It was condoning the result of the circumstance, as you do in the sport, that leads to the same result. Remember? Brain damage.

And condoning that is what you do with your comments. Do not miss the relevance next time, please. You go ahead and have a good one too.

and I quote'' not the difference of two two that was relevant''  ''what does that even mean????..your English is the issue here sir,...next time re - read your posts before you hit the submit button ..cuase I sir didn't miss anyting in your post....

[HappyAndRich]

11 minutes ago, mok199 said:

and I quote'' not the difference of two two that was relevant''  ''what does that even mean????..your English is the issue here sir,...next time re - read your posts before you hit the submit button ..cuase I sir didn't miss anyting in your post....

Yes, right! You just showed the normal instinct and reaction, that a person generally use when they know they lost the discussion. Moving the concentration on an irrelevant and off topic factor. Well Done, Sir!

I make it very simple. Children get hurt and risk brain damage due to that too many are in kickboxing fights at a too early age. You are condoning that with your comments. To me that´s the words of a passive love for hurting children.

Just to help you with the obvious: two two, should have been, the two.

Edited November 8, 2018 by HappyAndRich

[mikebell]

There's even a Thai TV channel which shows fighting cocks killing & maiming each other.  Thailand is a hundred years behind joining the civilised world, so what chance have the children got?

[mserror]

I think all fighting that involves blows to the head should be banned, and this was pushed strongly in the seventies by the medical profession. But now it is pretty much accepted, tolerated or ignored.

 

And all these young participants losing much of their intellect ensures a continuing supply of fans. 

[mok199]

2 hours ago, HappyAndRich said:

It was not the difference of two two that was relevant, but I somehow knew you would miss that.

It was condoning the result of the circumstance, as you do in the sport, that leads to the same result. Remember? Brain damage.

And condoning that is what you do with your comments. Do not miss the relevance next time, please. You go ahead and have a good one too.

yes I did get your post...trauma to the head is a huge problem in some sports, and muay thai is certainly near the top of the list...comparing head banging to  a wall and a punch or a kick is ''fair''...sorry if u was rude ,I was trying to be funny with my western sarcasim....have a good day sir

[CelticBhoy]

2 hours ago, mok199 said:

 Thais are capable of multi tasking and making choices

Priceless. Best one yet  . . . .  ????

[Media1]

Smart doctors give them a medal. And this is coming from a former boxer.

[mok199]

4 hours ago, CelticBhoy said:

Priceless. Best one yet  . . . .  ????

you actually read that  rant???? !!!..ouch.....have good one

Edited November 8, 2018 by mok199

[Cereal]

This will be controversial I realize, but it's highly likely that these young kids being put into boxing are not coming from the families of the elite. That being said, it's sad to see young boys kicking the crap out of each other so old men make money.

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, Cereal said:

This will be controversial I realize, but it's highly likely that these young kids being put into boxing are not coming from the families of the elite. That being said, it's sad to see young boys kicking the crap out of each other so old men make money.

This is true worldwide. Boxers are nearly always drawn from the deprived members of society and the attraction is always the same. It's the one route out of poverty that they can see.

 

I also agree with an earlier comment that religion is also a form of child abuse. It has been shown that there is much damage done to the brains of kids due to the continuous rocking of the head whilst learning to recite the koran in the madrassas of Pakistan and other Islamic countries.

 

Child abuse is all around us and takes many forms.

 

 

 

 

[kingstonkid]

OKAY  you and everyone seem to miss the point.  First it is not boxing it is Muay Thai.  boxing at their age is not a problem there is enough equipment and regulation to make it easy and safe.

 

MT is a major problem for anyone that is partaking of it.  The reason being that you are using knees and elbows that only have a bone to ht against the head.

 

The solution is I think very basic and easy.

 

Let the kids fight first of all they love it and they can make money for the family.  Also, boxing and MT keep them off the streets and teaches them discipline.

 

How to all but eliminate injuries.  First off headgear should be mandatory.just as it is in amateur boxing.  Hands boxing gloves they cushion the kit and cut down on the contact.

 

Eliminate elbows or hits to the head with anything other than the hands.

 

Most of these kids cannot do a head kick but those elbows hurt.  Eliminate the elbows they can train but no using in the ring.

 

A real doctor at ringside.  not some smuck that has a first aid kit.

 

[KhunFred]

It's about time. This is nothing more than a form of child abuse. Kudos to the Thai government for acting rationally on a serious issue.