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When I was in elementary and high schools, our hallway lockers were abnormally small. Because of this, not all of our textbooks and school materials could fit inside at one time. They were also not large enough to store our backpacks, so we were forced to carry them around all day. Student normally had to carry several books in their backpack at one time. An issues that is big on parents' minds today, is how the weight being carried in these backpacks is affecting children's backs. Most students are carrying around more than the suggest 10-15% of one's own body weight in their backpacks. Several studies have been done to show that the extra weight from homework and textbooks being carried around in children's backpacks, and also backpacks being improperly worn can have long-term damage on a growing spine. Some people have chosen to use rolling backpacks instead, but these can be bulky, hard to store in a school setting, loud, and hard to maneuver in large crowds and up stairs. Dr. Berkebile from Berkebile Chiropractic, has a website dedicated to backpack safety. This website can be found at http://www.dcberk.com/factsaboutbackpacks.html, and provides facts about backpack usage, tips for backpack safety, and additional contact information. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also provides tips for parents on the right backpack. There are many steps that can be taken towards eliminating the issues and concerns of backpacks in schools. Teachers can allow students more opportunities to go to and from their lockers to retrieve their materials. Schools or individual teachers could adopt a method of posting assignments and homework and testing materials online, so that heavy textbooks do not have to be taken home. Parents should make their children aware of safe backpack practices, and should encourage them to never carry unnecessary materials around that may be causing extra weight to be put on them. By making schools and students aware of safer backpack practices, these negative issues regarding backpacks can easily be taken care of.
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