If you'll be out shopping for a backpack this weekend, remember to follow up on something after it's full and ready for school.
The experts say backpacks should weigh no more than 10% of the weight of the child carrying it. For example, a child who weighs 80 pounds should not carry a backpack that weighs more than 8 pounds.
This advice comes from the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics after a recent study of middle school students that found as many as 64% were already suffering from chronic back pain as a result of back packs that were just too heavy.
Another suggestion from the journal is to make sure the straps are well padded and that your child is strapping it on both shoulders. Also tell your kids to put the heaviest books closest to the back so that the weight won't swing back away from them.
The California study was conducted by researchers at the University of California at Riverside.
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