Backpack Safety Tips

It is essential for all children that attend schools to wear a weekly backpack. Although they come in handy, backpacks tend to be the leading cause of back and shoulder pain in both adults as well as even children.

That said, we recommend at our medical practice that children never wear backpacks wider or longer than their own torso. Backpacks should also not appear more than 4 inches below the waistline, because doing so increases the weight on your child's shoulders and can cause your child to improperly lean forward when walking.

Always purchase backpacks that have wide, padded shoulder straps, as backpacks without padding will only place unnecessary pressure on your child's shoulder and neck muscles. Be sure to also remind your child to not walk around with just one strap, as doing so can cause a disproportionate weight shift to one side, resulting in muscle spasms in the neck, lower back pain, and incorrect posture. Shoulder straps should also be adjustable, to go along with your child's individual and sometimes rapidly growing body.

Be sure that the backpack itself is padded too, which not only provides better comfort, but also prevents your child from getting poked by pencils, crayons, rulers, and other supplies that are carried in their bag. Backpacks that have several compartments in them are both essential as well as ideal, because they help to evenly distribute the weight of your child's school contents.

As to what should be carried in your child's backpack along with the proportionate weight, children should never carry more than 10 percent of their own individual body weight. That means a 40 pound child should carry no more than 4 pounds, and a 50 pound child should carry no more than 5 pounds, backpack included.

Backpacks work best when centered in the middle of your child's back, even though it is not always easy when you have an active child running around with their friends. But nevertheless, it is always best for your child when they properly and naturally get used to it.