The weight of our children's schoolbag increases every year

This Monday, September 3rd, the start of the school year took place for most French schoolchildren, middle school students and high school students.

But their backpacks are they adapted to their morphologies?  

Backpacks that are too heavy or worn can cause many problems for children, teens and adults. When ill-fitting they can injure muscles and joints, which can lead to posture problems, headaches, neck, shoulder and back pain.

Before you make your purchase, make sure you find certain essential features for the sake of your health and that of your loved ones. First of all make sure the size matches, the backpack should not be wider than the child, nor exceed the lower back.

A lightweight backpack with good padding and two wide straps is best for it to be comfortable at the back. It is also necessary for your child to carry his backpack with both straps and not one, although this may seem "cool" as it requires one shoulder to pull up the bag and do the two-shoulder work.

Wearing both straps distributes the weight of the backpack over the shoulders and allows you to stand properly, so that the weight is centered and closer to the spine so that it is the strongest muscles in the middle of the back that work.

There are also other ways to carry your backpack, with ventral and waist straps that distribute weight over the hips and chest instead of just shoulder straps.

The fit must also be well organized so that your child can have free movement of his arms and shoulders to easily pick up and remove his backpack. The bare necessities must be present in the backpack, as it must not exceed 10-15% of its weight, the heaviest items must be low and directed towards the centre. Assuming your child's backpack may exceed 15% of his weight, it will be best to opt for a wheeled binder.

Don't hesitate to encourage your child and let you know about numbness, tingling or discomfort associated with carrying a backpack. This may mean that the bag is too heavy or that the fit is bad.

Watch him put on and take off his backpack to see if he is having any problems and check with his school to see if lockers are available so that he can drop off the heaviest books. No pain in your child's back should be taken lightly. If he has persistent back pain, consider buying more books at home and go to your doctor. Encourage your child to practice a sport, a strong body with balanced muscles will make it easier to carry a backpack.