As a school year approaches parents will head off to malls, big stores or on-line to buy school supplies such as binders, paper, pencils, coloring supplies and perhaps a backpack or book bag.  It is amazing the amount of weight kids will be carrying around each year as they cart multiple books and supplies back and forth.  At the same time kids in elementary and middle school will be physically growing.  This could present a problem.

Backpacks and other book bags get bigger and heavier every year.  It is possible that all that weight will eventually affect your Child’s posture.  Sometime in the middle school years there is usually a rapid growth spurt, especially in girls.  At the same time kids are carrying around increasingly heavier loads, and usually over one shoulder more than another.  Many kids carry their backpacks more on one side than another, as it makes it easier to whip it on and off.  Scoliosis, a medical condition in which a person’s spine is curved from side to side, is more common in middle school age girls than it is in boys and heavy book bags could be increasing the problem or making worse the problem in those who already have it.

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A typical backpack or book bag with the daily homework assignments, and supplies, may be 20 lbs in weight, and sometimes up to 30 pounds.  Since most kids carry their backpacks slung over one shoulder the weight is pulling the spine and back to one side all the time.  If this is happening a lot and at the same time the kid is undergoing a growth spurt, it could very well affect how they grow.  Since a young teen’s or pre-teen’s bones are still soft and growing, carrying a heavy load of book supplies may cause posture problems.

You will be able to see posture problems in your kid by looking at them from the back.  If you see one shoulder rests higher than the other or their head seems tilted slightly to one side than they could have current posture problems or be susceptible to them.  Another way to notice back problems is to have your child bend over.  If one side of their back looks higher than the other, they could have problems.  As well you can usually see from a side view if your child looks hunched in the shoulder area.  All of these back problems could be from a heavy backpack or worsened by one.

Back problems can lead to a chronic sore neck or pain.  Even worse it can lead to uneven stress on the spine which can cause degeneration when your kid is an adult.  If you do feel your kid is experiencing back problems from the burden of a backpack, you may first want to make sure they are carrying the backpack fully on their back as much as possible, provided the backpack can be carried that way.  Another alternative is to get a backpack with wheels since that will remove the bag from the back altogether, whenever it is convenient to do so.

Exercise, nutrition, stretching and keeping muscles strong and healthy are also important when kids need to carry a backpack for many years.  As well it won’t hurt to voice your opinion if you think your school is sending too many books home and causing negative physical effects on kids.  A little prevention will prevent potentially bad situations in children carrying backpacks or book bags.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Backpacks & Knapsacks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.