Bag That Carries Problems

At the beginning of each school year, might be confused about what kind of bag to get your child. Does shape of the bag really matter? Which one will be lighter? Well, the fact is that the shape does not really matter. What matters is what is inside the bag.

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. P.R. Sidhwa says, "If the bag is too big and heavy for your child, she may develop back, neck and shoulder pain. This is because when the school bag is heavy, the pressure is directed on the child's spinal cord and this may lead to chronic back pain.

Also Read: My Back is Killing Me

Also, these huge bags are a fashion statement for these kids, especially when they carry it on one shoulder only. Remember, carrying the bag on just one shoulder tires the shoulder muscles and the pressure on the bones can lead to neck and shoulder pain.

It is even worse when your child has to climb staircases with the heavy bag. In the process, she is just pressurising her legs and she could have pain in her limbs.

Dr. Sidhwa adds that as far as the growth of the child is concerned, there is no concrete theory to say that growth can be stunted because of heavy bags. However, it definitely affects the bones of your child and just could affect growth.

How Much Is Too Much?

So now we come to the critical question… What is the maximum load your child should carry? Paediatrician and child specialist from Mumbai, Dr. P.V. Vaidyanathan says, "The load that your child can take differs from one child to another.

You need to consider her age, height and weight. For example, if your child weighs somewhere around 20 to 30kgs, she should not lift bags as heavy as 8kgs."

What Do I Do?

Dr. P.V. Vaidyanathan suggests that if your child is very weak, she may not be able to carry her heavy bag for long. It is very important that she eats a healthy and balanced food. Make sure you give her a lot of milk so that she can develop strong bones.

Give her multivitamin supplements and calcium supplements for strong bones. Moderate exercise can also help her overcome muscular pains. Encourage your child to take rest for sometime. This will relax her muscles, and she will not complain of pains.

In spite of that, if your child complains of persistent pain, you need to consult a doctor immediately. Make sure the bag is light and comfortable for your child. For example, do not get a 500 pager book for a rough book.

Instead get a 100 pager book. Some children fill their bags with all the books instead of following their time-tables. So you must monitor what your child is filling her bag with and remove the ones that just add to the weight. Don't give her too many bags to reduce the heaviness of the main school bag as well. For example, if she has too many bags in her hand, she might not be able to support herself in the bus. This could cause unnecessary complications.

Progressive System

Enrol your child in a school which follows a progressive system of sheets. Mrs. Mayrose D'souza, Principal of Stanis Laus High School, Mumbai says, "We do not have any exercise books. We follow a sheet system for children from first standard to tenth standard.

We ask children to maintain a master file for every subject at their home and get 20 sheets for each subject to the school. They do their work in those sheets and are supposed to file these sheets in the respective master files." You cannot change the education system.

However, you can enrol your kids in schools that do not ask kids to carry too many books. Teach your child to carry the bag in the correct way, help her keep her bag as light as possible to keep her free from back-pain school days.