Parents unaware of the weight of the child's schoolbag

Parents need to know what their children have in their backpacks and how much it weighs. Though some children may seem to literally carry the world on their shoulders in their heavy backpacks, new study findings show that many parents do not know what their child's schoolbags contain and are even less aware of how much the bags weigh. The heavy bags, according to previous studies, increase a child's risk of falling and other avoidable injury. Researchers from the Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas conducted a study that involved 188 kindergarten through fifth-grade students. On average, the children toted about 14% of their body weight on their backs each day. The bags generally became heavier as the children grew older. The lightest-weight bag was less than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) and the heaviest was 13.5 kilograms (30 lbs). Many children were carrying items that were not immediately needed at school and if parents will take the time to monitor backpack contents they may be able to reduce the amount of weight their child has to carry. The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that children's backpacks weigh no more than 10% to 20% of their body weight. Students whose backpacks weighed more than 14% of their body weight, however, often complained of experiencing pain in their back, neck and shoulders. Overall, seven parents weighed their children's backpack, the report indicates, but in roughly one third of the students, neither their mother nor their father had ever peered inside their bookbags to see what they were carrying. These students' bags tended to be much heavier than their peers, and were filled with more textbooks. In general, most of the backpacks contained reading books, other textbooks and folders, as well as extra clothing or lunchboxes. In light of the findings, parents remain the best advocates for safety promotion and should represent the group most likely to help to significantly reduce the number of backpack related injuries by checking backpack weights and contents. Also, parents need to make sure that the backpack is carried properly, with the straps adjusted to make sure the weight is carried up on the back, evenly distributed on both shoulders.