Arguments for/against playing high school football?

I'm with you. Try to get your wife to think logically rather than emotionally (this is really hard, of course, with a son, but it's possible!). Think of the thousands & thousands of high school games played every single week, and how often you hear about a life changing injury or death. It almost never happens.

Today's media gets hysterical about everything with very little proof. One thing you could offer is take your son to a specialist and have his heart examined. There are a couple of very rare heart conditions that can first show up in sports play, esp b-ball and football. It will put her mind to rest knowing he doesn't have these.

Your wife obviously is more intelligent than you are and cares more about your child as well.

No such thing as ADD or ADHD. Its something that was made up to make lazy parents label thier kids and not smack them like a good parent and put them on dangerous drugs so the child becomes a good little robot

All kids have a lot of energy and the whole fake ADD\ADHD thing is really just kids who are BORED and have too much time with electronics and too much school time

Ii would say NO football. Kids are severely injured by it and get brain damage. There are no befits to a very dangerous sport, you want him to play since you think its manly and want to look all manly in front of your manly man friends.

If the only exercise he gets is an after school sport then the child needs way more exercise and not a dangrous sport

i would let him play football

adhd or not, you cant control your sons life...thats slavery

 First, grab the stats of injuries for kids. Football is not on the top of the list. Then l grab the stats on kids that do not either play a sport, or get involved in some sort of after school activity. Then grab the numbers of those that drop out of activities during the teen years but more importantly, the why's. Put them all together to present your case. Involved kids do better in school, which sets them up better for the next stage. Kids that are forced to do this or that as opposed to being able to choose, are the ones who drop them. If the kid is passionate about something, like football, the rewards are much greater then risks. Take a kids passion away and force them into another area, grades will drop, drugs have a greater chance of entering the picture. If the kid does have another passion, then trying to steer them away from the football, would be OK. But the choice at that age should really come down to the kid.

Soccer burns more calories and is safer than football. But I think the dangers of tackle football are often exaggerated.