Back to School: Backpack Safety for Kids

Backpacks come in all sizes, colors, fabrics, and shapes and help kids express their own personal sense of style. And when used properly, they’re incredibly handy. But backpacks can strain young muscles and joints; and may cause pain if they’re too heavy or not used correctly.

Kids can have backaches from lugging around the weight of books, school supplies, and personal items. Doctors and physical therapists recommend that kids carry no more than 10% to 20% of their body weight in their packs. But many carry a lot more than that.

The weight can pull a child backward, making them bend forward at the hips or arch the back to stay steady. This unnatural position can lead to shoulder, neck, and back pain. There is also an increased chance of falling — putting elbows, arms, hands and fingers at risk of injury.

Kids who wear their backpacks over just one shoulder — as many do — may end up leaning to one side to offset the extra weight. This strains their shoulders, neck and arms. Backpacks should be worn in such a way that the spine remains upright and the shoulders and arm muscles work evenly. Simply put: Improper backpack use can lead to bad posture.

Also, backpacks with tight, narrow straps that dig into the shoulders can cause tingling, numbness, and weakness in the arms and hands. If these same straps are too loose, the backpack will rest too low on the back and be bad for posture.

Picking up or carrying a heavy backpack with hands can also put a strain on wrist and finger joints.

Other safety issues to consider:

Kids who carry large packs often aren’t aware of how much space the packs take up and can hit others with their packs when turning around or moving through tight spaces, such as the aisles of a school bus.
Students can be injured if they trip over large packs or a pack falls on them.
Carrying a heavy pack changes the way kids walk and puts them at risk of falling, particularly on stairs or other places where a backpack puts a student off balance.
Arms, elbows, hands and fingers are especially at risk of injury in a fall because they are used to balance and catch a body AND a heavy backpack.

To help kids prevent injury when using a backpack, they should lighten the load. No matter how well-designed the backpack, less weight is always better. Use the bathroom scale to check that a pack isn’t over 10% to 15% of your child’s body weight. For example, a child who weighs 100 pounds shouldn’t carry a backpack that weighs more 15 pounds.

Make sure kids use both shoulder straps. Bags that are slung over the shoulder or across the chest — or that only have one strap — aren’t as effective at distributing the weight as bags with two wide shoulder straps. This can lead to strained muscles.

Tighten the straps enough for the backpack to fit closely to the body. The pack should rest evenly in the middle of the back about two inches above the waist. That way most of the backpack weight is on the upper back and shoulders — preventing awkward postures.

Picking up the backpack the right way can help kids avoid back injuries. As with any heavy weight, they should bend at the knees and grab the pack with both hands when lifting a backpack to the shoulders.

Talk with your child about any discomfort from the backpack. Watch your child put on and take off the backpack. You may need to adjust your kids’ backpacks and/or reduce how much they carry if they: