My daughter loved gymnastics even though it was destroying her knees. She refused to give up the sport, so I made a difficult parenting decision.

But gymnastics, even done safely, is hard on the body. My daughter started complaining that her knees hurt in middle school. Complaining was out of character for her, and I took her to the doctor.

Gymnastics was causing irreversible damage to her body At first, we chose the less intense track — fewer hours, more balance — so she could still be a kid. But the hours added up.

Gymnastics was causing irreversible damage to her body. At first, we chose the less intense track — fewer hours, more balance — so she could still be a kid. But the hours added up. What began as 45 ...