Heavy Backpacks May Cause Injuries to Children

Nearly every child, from kindergarten through college, lugs a backpack to school and back home again. Have you ever seen a small child struggling to drag a heavy back pack around with them? It may look cute, watching them struggle with the weight of the heavy backpack, but the truth is it may eventually cause injuries to that small child.

Injuries Caused By Heavy Backpacks

In a study reported by the University of California in 2004 it was reported that 64% of American children, aged 11 to 15, complained of backaches attributed to a heavy backpack. In another study by Boston University, nearly 85% of college age students reported aches and pains due to carrying a heavy backpack.

Doctors also fear that heavy backpacks harm children's posture because they tend to lean forward and scrunch their shoulders in an attempt to distribute the weight of their backpacks. These heavy packs can also cause pulled muscles and strain on your child's back and arms.

According to a report in Web MD, nearly 10,000 children are seen in an emergency room or a doctor's office because of backpack injury. Children generally do not know to lift with their legs and will struggle to lift the heavy backpack using only their backs and arms. This can cause severe strains and back pain over time.

This is such a cause for alarm that there is a "National School Backpack Awareness Day" held in September. These events are designed to help parents, students and school administrators understand the dangers of heavy backpacks and the proper way to load them.

How Much Should a Child's Backpack Weigh?

In a study done in Texas back in 2002, 96% of the parents had never checked the weight of their child's backpack. They had no idea what the backpack should, or should not, weigh in order to protect their child from harm.

There is a proper way to load a backpack to help protect a child and to distribute the weight. The heaviest books should be at the back of the pack, against the child's back. Papers and other things should be packed in so they do not move around.

Some parents are not aware of how the backpack is loaded or even what is in it. They also do not know that the weight of the backpack should be according to what the child weighs, not what they are able to manage.

Your child's backpack should never weigh more than 10 to 15% of your child's weight, no matter how strong the child is. If your child weighs 60 pounds, then the backpack they carry should never exceed 9 pounds of weight. What does your child's backpack weigh? What is your child carrying in that heavy backpack?

Taking the time to check the backpack every morning and teach your child the proper way to load and wear a backpack just might save them from an injury. Watching a child struggle with a backpack that is to heavy is no laughing matter!

Sources:

http://www.aota.org/DocumentVault/Backpack/44404.aspx

http://www.childsplaytherapycenter.com/backpacks.html

http://www.childrenshospital.org/views/october06/backpack_too_heavy.html

http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/news/20021220/few-parents-check-their-childs-backpack