Bags are a back-breaking burden on kids

AHMEDABAD: The slightest discomfort to children shakes their parents because of how deeply they care. However, not many parents notice the weight of the

school

bag their child lugs about every day. A survey carried out by The Times of India, covering seven schools in the city, found that despite myriad efforts, directives and measures, the burden on children’s backs across school is the same.

A TOI team visited these schools and weighed the school bags of some 350 children. One key observation was that burdensome bags have failed to go away. As these schools, which have strict measures in place to check books and time tables, th bag itself was a burden, sometimes weighing about 4-5kg empty. Add to this tiffins, water bottles, textbooks, notebooks and the burden on little children’s shoulders is beyond imagination.



A class VI student weighing 40kg, was found to be carrying a bag weighing 9kg, of which 1.9kg was from extra items, other than the books needed according to the day’s time table. A class I student was carrying 6kg bag, with the weight just from the tiffin and water bottle, as no books were be brought to school.

Doctors warn that heavy bags can cause a number of medical complications for children, ranging from lower back pain to headaches and even ligament tears. The constant load on the spine coupled with bad posture can lead to lower back pain as the angle of the neck and lower back are changing for the worse. Dr Nehal Shah, the principal of SBB College of Physiotherapy says, “The muscular and respiratory systems of children are being affected by the heavy burden on their shoulders.”

A city-based psychologist, Dr Prashant Bhimani, says, “The weight in bags other than from books is an indicator of parents’ anxiety and insecurity, as they believe in being ‘over providers’ to children, with a spirit of competition. Parents must expand their horizons and trust schools. Schools arrange for drinking water, but still children carry heavy water bottles.”


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