May272012

Grab The Right Bag

Children • Health • School

We see so many school bags at the mall. Most are big, colorful and attractive to our kid’s eyes because the bags are designed with their favorite cartoon character or perhaps it has special features like its functionality because it comes with a stroller or with a free lunch bag.

Parents usually let their kids choose their own bag, right? And most of us are not aware on the health hazards bags could cause to our kids. Like its effect to our kids posture and development of their spinal ligaments and muscles.

My son used stroller bags before he opted to use a backpack last school year. He asked for it since most of his classmates used the same. You know how kids deal with fad in school.

Because he has a lot of books and other school supplies, I noticed that he was not at ease carrying his backpack, however, he continued using it. We let him have his backpack, but we bought another bag and separated his other school supplies.

In that way, we helped him ease the burden on his back caused by his heavy books and school supplies.

I learned from Dr. Gia Sison, in a television interview, that children should not carry backpacks more that 10 to 20 percent of their weight.

I’d also like to share to you about GMA NewsTV tips on buying school bags to make sure these suit children:

1. Look for bags with two straps, so the weight is balanced. Body bags or mailman bags are not suitable for school.
2. The straps should be wide and padded with foam for extra support.
3. The bag should have many compartments to accommodate more things.

And yes, if you are not yet aware, there is a Senate Bill 2179 which deals with limiting the weight of bags being carried by children to school. It was authored by Senator Lito Lapid.

You might think about the bill as simple, but I believe it has a great impact on our kids health and welfare.

18 comments on “Grab The Right Bag”

  1. This post is very informative. Thank you Ms. Karen for sharing. Couldn’t say anything more. I totally agree with you.

  4. whoa. if it weren’t for your post, i wouldn’t know that there’s a bill which deals with weight of bags being brought by children to school. that’s really good to regulate so much bringing of things (some of which are not really necessary) and beneficial for the child’s health din.

  5. Health is the foremost concern of every mother especially for her kids. And for providing the school bag, it should be proper “the right bag” for them not only for the right price. The inappropriate bag for the school children will of course surely affect their health, especially when it is is too heavy for them to carry.

  6. Agree! sometimes we think that this is some kind of small matters and tend to overlook. Bags should be a major consideration so as to avoid health risk for our kids.

  12. Thank you for these highlights! I actually have a niece who will be going back to school. Good thing she still likes those stroller bags as opposed to the back pack. But should she decide to use the latter, I will make sure to mention the hazards of it to her mother.

  15. Backpacks are better definitely better for school stuff. There are even some bag makers that can customize bags based on your form and right fit.

  16. In my children’s school… backpacks are not allowed.
    Shoulder bags will do because the school management
    believes that they are more posture friendly. Anyways,
    thanks for these relevant tips.

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