Backpack Safety: Pack it light, wear it right! 

Now that school is back in session, your kids have most likely been assigned homework in more than one class. With the increase in homework comes an increase in the weight to their backpacks, which can cause physical harm to them if they aren’t carrying their backpacks properly! I know when I was growing up it wasn’t “cool” to wear your backpack on both shoulders, and most of the kids even wore their backpack as low as possible. Thankfully the times have changed, but never the less, backpacks still cause a huge safety risk for our children. 

Size of the Backpack 

The first thing to consider is to make sure the backpack is the correct size and fit for your child. When over both shoulders, the backpack straps should be able to be tightened to the point where the entire backpack touches your child’s back. If the backpack is unable to do this, it is likely too large and will be putting unnecessary stress on your child’s upper and lower backs. Another consideration is how large does your child’s backpack need to be? Younger children don’t necessarily need a huge backpack since they will not be hauling large textbooks to and from school. The more space the backpack has, the more likely they are to try and fill it with unnecessary items, and the weight will be too much for them to carry. The size and fit of the backpack should be the most important consideration when purchasing a backpack. 

Symptoms of wearing too heavy of a backpack

•Pain in the back, shoulders, neck, and or hands 

•Tight or weakened muscles •Poor posture 

•Numbness and tingling in the hand or arms 

•May lead to chronic pain or improper movement 

How to pack a backpack properly: 

Pack the heaviest items towards the back of the backpack, or closest to your child’s back. This is similar to carrying boxes in front of your body: you would never hold a box with your arms extended forward, but instead hold it close to the body since it takes less effort and decreases the overall weight of the box! By doing this one trick, you can reduce the amount of overall stress the back and muscles will have to endure. In addition, the backpacks should not weight more than 10% of your child’s bodyweight. Keep it light! 

How to wear a backpack properly: 

Even if you pick a backpack that is the perfect size for your child, you need to make sure they are wearing it correctly. The shoulder straps should always be worn on both shoulders with them tightened equally on both sides. The backpack should also fit snugly, and should usually never hang lower than your waistband. In order to decrease pressure on the muscles and nerves of the shoulders and back, padded shoulder straps are best. Most backpacks these days come with waist straps in order to more evenly distribute the weight of the backpack, and should be used especially when the weight of the backpack is increased.