How do you secure your child's schoolbag?

Our children carry them all day long on their backs, The binder is an accessory that goes hand in hand with their school life. With or without wheels, with one or more compartments, very stylized or rather sober, there are many models to adapt to the tastes of each as well as the trends of the moment. However, if we talk a lot about fashion effects, the safety aspect of the binder is sometimes relegated to the background. However, there are many ways to secure our child's school bag so that this accessory has a real utility feature both in the school and during the journey to get there for example. Our specialists guide you and give you a few keys to optimize your child's safety with his school bag.

School safety: what are the standards in France?

Today, many parents work and may not be able to afford to take their children to school in the morning. Also, many of them then have to go there by their own means on foot or by school pick-up bus. On this route, in the early morning and late afternoon, the light is generally not the best and the risk of an accident is real. In this context, the binder can become a real safety tool by being equipped for example with reflective elements. But what about the legislation in France? What are the safety standards for the school school bag?

In our country, the standard that sets the rules for the manufacture of the school bag in terms of road safety but also with regard to ergonomics, rain sealing or the absence of harmful substances is called DIN 58124. In particular, it provides for the obligation to cover at least 10% of the rear surface and the side sides with reflective elements. The aim of these elements is to increase the visibility of children in low light. While these reflective accessories are really useful at night or in low light to improve the visibility of children, especially with motorists, this device is completely useless during the day. In addition, to complement it at best, this same standard recommends adding fluorescent textile strips to the fabric of the bag on 20% of the bag's surface.

However, despite these recommendations, it is noted that many bag manufacturers do not apply these tips and prefer to focus on style rather than safety. Be aware that when a product meets the requirements of DIN 58124, it is mentioned on the corresponding label. Think about opening your eyes!

What are the different solutions to secure your child's schoolbag?

You should know that dressed in a "classic" way, in low light, a child is only visible about 30 meters from a motorist. Knowing that it will take about 25 meters to stop when driving at a speed of 50 km/h, it is more prudent to anticipate to avoid risks. Apart from DIN 58124, it is possible as parents to add a few accessories yourself in order to secure their child's schoolbag. Here are some examples.

Sew yourself reflective strips on your child's schoolbag

If you're a little clever with the needle or sewing machine, you can customize your child's binder yourself by adding reflective strips to secure it. You can also sew a few additions of fluorescent fabrics to give it more visibility during the day. There are many accessories on the market that can be sewn directly onto your child's school bag. In specialty shops, you'll find reflective stripes as well as neon stickers of all kinds and for all tastes. Note that the fluorescent colors on the yellow signal and the red-orange. Reflective strips on children's school bags and clothing allow them to be visible from a distance of about 150 metres by a motorist, which is 5 times more than in the absence of safety features.

Good to know: in order for these safety elements to be effective, you must place them in strategic locations of the binder, namely on the ribs and front of the bag but also on the shoulder straps or the telescopic handle if it is a wheeled binder. You can also add reflective elements to his jacket, shoes or even his cap for maximum safety.

Fix a light on your child's schoolbag

Another solution is to attach a light to your child's schoolbag so that it is visible to motorists at night. On the web and in specialized shops, you will find flashing LED pendants of different colors that can easily attach to the zipper or to a key door.