Signs You Can Tell Your Kid’s Backpacks are Way too Heavy

Look for these signs if you think they are having back issues.

We’ve all been there, because we were all kids at one point. Lugging home 3-4 textbooks, 3 notebooks, a binder, pencil case, lunchbox, all in a tiny backpack. Just thinking about those good old days I feel like my back is still aching, or is that just me getting older…?

Either way kids are carrying way more than they should be, even with laptops and tablets now (by the way don’t you wish you had that as a kid in school?).  According to Dr. Arkady Lipnitsky, he explains, "Most of these backpacks are 20 or 25 pounds. That puts many kids closed to 25 percent of their body weight, which definitely has an effect on the spine."

This causes some concern as kids should really not be carrying no more than 10% of their body weight. Yikes.

So to fight that problem parents should be paying close attention to their children when it comes to the following:

• See if they are walking differently than before
• Their sitting or standing posture, like arching backwards or forwards without any weight on them
• Visible changes to the spine
• Complaints coming from you children (that should not be ignored)

Dr. Lipnitsky says if you notice any changes you should consult a doctor right away. You might also want to consider a change in backpacks as well.

Source: People

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