London CNN —Allowing children to play impact sports, such as rugby or boxing, amounts to a form of child abuse, researchers from three British universities said in a new study. “The child’s brain doesn’t know or care how it was traumatized,” study lead author Eric Anderson, Professor of Sport at the University of Winchester, told CNN. And so we need to stop parents from hitting children in the head as punishment. The study argues that children cannot consent to taking part in highly dangerous activities such as impact sports, nor can adults give informed consent on their behalf. “If we were to invent sports from the get-go today, we wouldn’t be inventing sports that had children hitting their brains,” Anderson said.

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Persons: “, Eric Anderson, ” “ It’s, Gary Turner, ”, Keith Parry, ” Anderson Organizations: London CNN, Philosophy, of Sport Association, University of Winchester, Bournemouth University, Nottingham Trent University, Rugby Football Union, RFU, CNN, England Boxing, Sport, United Nations Convention, Department for Sport, Management, University of Bournemouth, soccer’s Football, Athletics, Grassroots Sport Locations: British, England