Notebooks, pencils, calculator, and a ton of books. From elementary through high school, even into college, young bones are growing and groaning under overloaded backpacks. If a new backpack is on your school supply list, help your kids choose the best one to avoid back injury.
Nancy Bloom, a physical therapy instructor at Washington University School of Medicine has some advice to lighten the load:
- Books aren't necessarily heavier these days. Kids are just carrying more of them. See if you can convince your teenager to carry only the books that he or she needs. Think ahead and bring home just what is needed to do homework.
- Wear the backpack over both shoulders to balance the load. A backpack is not a purse and not to be thrown over just one shoulder.
- Buy a backpack with a waist strap to provide extra support and more balance for the weight.
- Look for those with padded, wide straps and a padded back. Adjust the straps to fit snugly.
- Neatly pack the heaviest books closest to the wearer's back.
- If the load is simply too heavy for comfort, consider buying a backpack with wheels.
- Caution your children that even if they avoid back injuries from backpacks, they need to take care and not trip over carelessly tossed backpacks lying on the floor or in school bus aisles.
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