Shocking Revelations: The Hidden Dangers of Backpacks for Children Revealed! Must-Know Tips to Keep Your Child Safe and Healthy!
Today we sat down with Dr. Jim from ChiroMe Health and Wellness and discussed child safety related to backpacks.
It is back to school and here are some reminders and tips on how to properly carry a backpack for yourself or your kids. These tips are to reduce strain on the body, specifically the neck, upper back, low back, and shoulders. Over to you Dr. Jim!
Introduction: Child Safety and Backpacks
Hi, my name is Dr. Jim and it is that time again, it is back to school. So that can relate to what I’m going to be talking about today, which is proper backpack guidelines or safety to go over with your kids or even if you’re an adult, this will be helpful.
So why even bother talking about how someone carries the backpack? The reason is because you want to avoid chronic upper back, neck, lower back issues and even shoulder issues.
Importance of Proper Backpack Carrying Techniques
I’m going to go over some examples of what you should and shouldn’t do and how much your child or even yourself should be carrying. So if you have a child that’s carrying a backpack where it sits too low, usually five, six inches below their waistline, this is going to lead to a strain in their neck, the upper back, lower back, even the shoulders because they’re having that forward head posture, they’re having to lean forward just to compensate for all that weight.
And then this next one is if they’re carrying their backpack on one side, that’s going to lead to the body being imbalanced, which could in the future affect the way they walk, affect their gaits, and even is going to affect the way the muscle is distributed.
Backpack Safety Tips
The side that the backpack is always on is going to have an increase in muscle formation because you’re always shrugging that side. So those are just some of the problems that can occur when you don’t position the backpack properly.
Thick and Adjustable Straps
So some of the tips for properly carrying a backpack would be to make sure that you have straps that are thick. You want them thick so that they can rest on your shoulders, you rest on your upper back without feeling tension, without squeezing into your muscles.
And you also want to make sure that the straps are adjustable so that you can tighten them up and make sure that the backpack is not hanging too low and make sure that it’s at a comfortable height on your back.
Carrying heavy loads can cause the spine to bend from its normal position. Proper backpack use and yearly spinal check-ups can prevent spinal problems.
Dr. Jim, ChiroMe Health and Wellness
Recommended Weight Limit
The second tip is to make sure that your child or yourself are carrying less than 20% of your weight. So if your child is 100 pounds, you want to make sure that they are carrying 20 pounds or less. The less obviously is better and always encourage them to leave the books that they don’t need in the locker rooms or in the desk and only bring home the books that they need for homework and studying and things like that.
Weight Distribution and Compartmentalization
The third tip is to make sure you put the heaviest books or the heaviest items closest to your body and then kind of space everything out. So you want a backpack that also have a lot of compartments so that you can kind of even the weight throughout the backpack so that it’s not just all on one side or not just all in the back or the front.
Waist or Chest Strap for Added Support
And then the last tip is to look for a backpack that has a waist or a chest strap so that it will help hold the backpack closer to the body and reduce the amount of strain on the body.
So all of these are great tips to avoid strain on the body and the strain on the body can also lead to poor posture. You want to make sure that you’re following these guidelines and also taking care of your body at the same time.
