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See the collectionShould Children Head the Ball? The Honest Answer
Kit, Rules & Safety
No, organised heading practice is not recommended for this age band.
The FA's own guidance, introduced in 2020, keeps deliberate heading out of coached training for primary-school-age children, broadly under-12s in England, with deliberate heading in matches removed for the youngest age groups through later trials in subsequent seasons. This site's whole audience sits inside that band. This isn't a reason to worry that heading has already caused harm; it's a precautionary, evolving piece of guidance, and the practical answer for a parent is simple: don't drill heading, and gently redirect a child who wants to try it. I'll admit I didn't think twice about heading a ball back as a kid myself, which is exactly why I went looking for what the actual guidance says now, rather than assuming nothing's changed.
Heading the ball rules for children
No deliberate heading practice for children in this age band, in training since The FA's 2020 guidance and in matches since later trials removed it for the youngest age groups too. Any technique introduction starts once a child moves up beyond this age band, from around 12, and builds gradually from there. This is a precaution, not a reaction to a known problem in children.
What the research actually shows
Why the Guidance Exists, and What It Doesn't Prove About Your Child
The Football Association introduced its youth heading guidance in 2020, keeping deliberate heading practice out of coached training for primary-school-age children; deliberate heading in matches was removed for the youngest age groups through later trials in subsequent seasons. Separately, a 2019 study of former professional footballers (Read the study in the New England Journal of Medicine) found that former professional players had a higher rate of death recorded as due to neurodegenerative disease than a matched comparison group. That study looked at adult men who'd already completed long professional careers, likely including thousands of headers over decades of adult competitive football. It doesn't tell us anything directly about a young child having the occasional kickabout, and it's an association the researchers found, not proof of what causes what.
See how Our Kickabout researches its pages.
What to actually say
What to Actually Say If Your Child Wants to Head It
Redirect toward a skill they can practise instead, a first touch, a pass, a shot, without making heading feel forbidden or scary. A simple line does it: "Shall we work on your shooting instead? Heading's one for when you're older."
Keeping this in proportion
This Isn't a Reason to Worry About Football
This is one specific, narrow piece of guidance about one skill, not a sign that football itself is unsafe for a young child playing normally with their feet. For the everyday version of play, see what to say during play and the simple rules that keep it fun, which the rest of this hub already covers.
Quick answers
Common Questions About Heading the Ball and Young Children
Is it safe for young children to head a football?
There's no evidence that occasional, accidental contact in normal play is harmful, but The FA's own guidance is precautionary: no deliberate heading practice is recommended for this age band, so there's no need to drill it either way.
Does the FA allow heading practice for under 12s?
No. The FA's guidance, introduced in 2020, keeps deliberate heading out of coached training for primary-school-age children, with match heading removed for the youngest age groups through later trials. Any technique introduction starts once a child moves up beyond this age band, from around 12.
What should I do if my child wants to head the ball?
Redirect them toward a skill worth practising instead, like a first touch, a pass or a shot, without making heading feel like something to be scared of. It's simply not the skill to work on yet.
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three places to go next in the Parent Play Style collection. If a header ends in a nosebleed, what to do when the ball hits the nose and it bleeds has the steps.
Want more on what to actually say during play?
The words that make a session work.
See the guidanceWant the simple rules that keep it fun?
A short, workable set that doesn't feel like coaching.
See the rulesTonight's five minutes
Feet, not head. That's the whole rule for now.
Five minutes of first touch or shooting practice does more for a young child than any heading drill would.