New medical and sporting guidelines for children who suffer a head injury have been welcomed by junior sporting clubs.
On Saturday the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Institute of Sport released a statement recommending children aged under 18 who suffer concussion should not return to the sporting field until at least two weeks after their symptoms have cleared.
The voluntary guidelines came out of a joint-project between the AMA and AIS, which saw the creation of a government-funded website, resources and warnings for parents, coaches and sports administrators to be more cautious when allowing children with head injuries back on the field.
"Sports-related concussion is a type of brain injury that is not always obvious, and symptoms may change over time," outgoing AMA president Professor Brian Owler said.
"Playing sport is a healthy and normal part of childhood but it can lead to injuries to developing brains.
"The message is this - if in doubt, sit them out. Missing a couple of weeks of playing won't kill them, but letting someone with a brain injury back on to the field - even just the training field - can be disastrous."
Carlton Junior Football Club president Peter Behrendorff welcomed any rules that could make AFL safer, particularly for young people with developing brains.
He said Auskick's modified rules meant children under 12 rarely fell on their heads or became concussed, but once they moved onto playing in junior leagues there was more chance of injury.
"Kids need to learn how to fall and how to take tackles but we need to be conscious to minimise the danger and the possibility of getting a head injury," Mr Behrendorff said.
Mr Behrendorff said when he played for Blackburn Football Club he suffered three concussions between the ages of 18 and 27.
He said he did not want any of his three children to suffer the same fate.
"The sport itself has gotten safer, the treatments and understanding of and brian injuries is much better, but if someone could come up with a solution that would reduce the likelihood of stopping it happening in the first place it would go a long way," he said.
"Perhaps reduce the amount of heavy clashes or make it less of a contact sport."
North Melbourne Junior Netball co-ordinator Juleen Maxfield welcomed the new online resources, which provide athletes, coaches, parents and medical practitioners with information on how to identify and manage concussion in sport.
She said young netballers who had a serious injury were never allowed back on the courts before they were completely healed.
"Kids fall over all the time, they might scrape their knee, and that's fine," Ms Maxfield said.
"But if it looks like they've really hurt themselves, we make sure they've seen the right people and check if their injury is going to impact on them. They're certainly not allowed to play before they should be."
