When my Year Seven son jumped out of the car one morning, ready to rush through the school gates, I got to thinking about just how long it took him to get himself organised.
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“Rushing’’ may be a slight exaggeration, but had he wanted to dash away in pure joy about his school day, he would not have managed it anyway.
First, he had to shove in his ipad, his drink bottle, his big chunky text books and his water bottle. Then I watched as he heaved the heavy load off the backseat and onto his back. Next he leant back inside, grabbed another backpack, and strapped it on to the front of his body – his PE uniform and shoes.
As he walked away I marveled at how the double-sided padding strapped to the lanky 12-year-old could have worked well as a sumo wrestling suit. It’s worse for my 15-year-old. He’s also got a laptop and a big fat textbook the size of about 10 Bibles.
Shellharbour chiropractor Maria Zuschmann said carrying heavy back packs day in, day out, could be cause for concern.
“We’ve certainly seen a rise in the weight of bags that our kids are carrying,’’ she said. ‘’Ideally your child's back pack should be no more than 10 per cent of their own body weight. So if your child is 40kg they should have no more than about 4kg, 60kg no more that 6kg.’’ My son would be pushing 50kg, his load is more like 7kg.
‘’Carrying bags that are too heavy for your child’s frame may impact their posture and increase potential of muscle fatigue,’’ Dr Maria, from Inner Edge Wellness, said.
She suggests packing the heaviest items close to the spine and to make sure all the zips are fastened and straps adjusted for best fit.
She says it’s also wise to remove any unnecessary items – I’m thinking parents should make the decision on what’s necessary, or run the risk of finding textbooks and novels lying around the house.
