In India, a school kid carrying a heavy backpack is a common sight. In most cases, any complaints of shoulder or back pain by the kids are dismissed by the parents. However, the repercussions of these pains usually last a lifetime. Apart from shoulder, neck and back pain, this can also result in lack of attentiveness and fatigue affecting their ability to learn during their formative years. The long-term effects of carrying a heavy shoulder bag include:

• damaged spine. This leads to problems like having a hunched back and scoliosis (spine bent sideways)
• Low blood flow to the limbs
• Cervical and lumbar pains.
• Difficulty in breathing
• Stunted bone growth etc.,

As a standard recommendation, it is advised that a child’s backpack should weigh only 10% of his/her body weight. This includes their water bottle, lunch and any extra item being carried with the books.

However, eliminating the age-old tradition of carrying heavy backpacks requires efforts from the side of the parents as well as the school. From the parent’s side, here are a few steps that can be taken to ensure lighter bags for a healthier child.

• Help your child pack only the necessary books everyday
• Avoid hard-binding that increases the bag’s weight
• Encourage your kids to put their bags down whenever possible

From the school’s side, a few steps that can be taken to reduce the load are:

• Clear instructions about the books to be brought everyday
• Introducing a locker system to store books in the school
• Reducing the number of notebooks required per subject
• Providing ample space for children to keep their bags

While these steps could ideally help reduce the weight of the bag, any miscommunication from the kid’s part could leave the parents confused and restart the cycle of carrying a heavy backpack. To avoid such situations, SchoolSkies’ innovative school management solutions could bridge the gap between the teachers and parents and keep the parents up-to-date about the day to day necessities. To know more about how SchoolSkies’ can help your school management efforts, mail us at schoolsupport@schoolskies.com or call us at 044 69000014.