Is your child’s backpack too heavy, bulky, or about to burst at the seams because your child is constantly stuffing all of their school supplies, textbooks, library books, lunch boxes, and other personal belongings into their backpack? A heavy backpack can cause long-term health problems or injuries. Over the last few years, more children are complaining about neck, shoulder, and back pain as a result of carrying around a heavy backpack every day. I am excited to share with you that some schools are slowly catching on to the dangers of your child carrying too many books in their backpack. Some schools are providing teachers with a set of textbooks for the classroom and then they school sends a textbook home with each student at the beginning of the year so that your child can keep the book at home. As technology continues to improve, more schools can check out digital copies of textbooks and reduce your child’s load.
Disclosure: This post is for informational purposes only. If your child is complaining about neck, shoulder, pain between their shoulder blades, or back pain, please see your child’s doctor immediately to rule out serious health problems or injuries.
Learn The Truth About Rolling Backpacks
A few years ago, backpack makers introduced a rolling backpack which was a great idea in theory. Backpack makers wanted to make it easier for kids to haul around a heavy backpack. However, most parents don’t realize that these backpacks aren’t made for icy conditions, snow, stairs, or tight spaces (ie bus, crowded hallways). In fact, some school districts have banned the use of rolling backpacks because they are bulkier and take up more space in the classroom. Before heading to the store to buy your child a rolling backpack, make sure that your child’s school hasn’t banned these backpacks. When your child gets to middle or high school, it will be difficult for your child to roll the backpack behind them in a crowded hallway or end up having to haul their backpack on their back to climb the stairs. If your child has a rolling backpack it is possible that your child is going to have to constantly wear it on their back anyhow, putting them at risk for long-term health problems or injuries. A backpack with wheels add additional weight to your child’s backpack.
Comments
12 responses to “Choosing the Right Backpack Can Greatly Reduce the Risks of Long-Term Health Problems or Injuries”
Great thorough article. All great points to consider when choosing a backpack!
Thank you for stopping by Raquel. 🙂
Great, informative post!
Thank you for stopping by Jennifer.
Required reading for backpack shoppers! I don’t think I ever put enough time into choosing the right one with my older kids when they were young…poor things, it was more about what they liked in my budget range, which wasn’t a lot when I had four young kids. Now that I have just one in school, I researched and tested and finally ended up spending like $50 on a brand-name one with all sorts of extras to make it comfy. Even with the textbooks staying home, that backpack is still wayyy too heavy, imo, if he has all he needs to daily. I really wish they’d go back to having lockers at school. Great post!
Don’t feel bad when my older kids were younger, I bought them a backpack that was in my budget as well. I was feeling my daughter’s backpack yesterday and it felt too heavy even though she didn’t have any books in it either..
My oldest just started kindergarten this week–so we bought him his very first full-size backpack. Fortunately he doesn’t have much to carry, but I will keep all this info in mind as he and his siblings grow and have more things to carry to and from school!
I hope your child enjoys going to school and learning new things. 🙂
Backpack trends are so funny. The rolling ones are just weird to me, but I remember how you could only where your pack on one shoulder, or you just weren’t cool.
I agree they were weird, one of my older kids had one for a while and it didn’t last long.
Can heavy backpacks stunt your growth too? These are really good tips! You think of everything!
Lexie I don’t know if they can stunt your growth; however, if you damage your discs in your back you can lose a few inches of your height. Plus you can run the risk of hunchback issues if you are constantly learning forward to counterbalance the extra weight.