Wearing Backpacks Comfortably
December 6, 2005 by Lei
Filed under General Play Library Goodies
Backpacks are a rite of passage for kids. I can still remember the excitement and pride I felt when I finally got a “real” backpack – it was light blue nylon with a leather bottom.
Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine report that children end up in the emergency room every year from backpack or bookbag-related injuries.* On average, children carry a backpack load equal to 22 percent of their body weight which is above the 20 percent threshold when normal skin and muscle blood flow to the shoulder is reduced.
Here are four recommendations for wearing backpacks safely:
- Backpacks should be positioned high on the back
- Backpack straps should be over both shoulders
- Weight in the backpacks should be minimized
- Backpacks should have wide straps
I violated every single one of these recommendations as a kid and still do. The problem may be that nobody wants to look like a geek unless they’re trekking the Himalayas.
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*When I first read this, I imagined kids swinging their backpacks around and smacking their classmates in the head.
News-Medical.Net, December 6, 2005
I was shocked by the amount of books my daughter was expected to carry in her backpack every day of 4th and 5th grade, that cannot possibly be good for them at all. It was heavier than I would want to carry all day, and this was about an 80 pound kid! This is a good reminder and important information to avoid injury.
Ohhh yeah. That’s why I see kids with those wheelie luggage deals now instead of backpacks.