Is your child's bag heavy?

Hi youless, it's really pity to see little kids to carry heavy school bags which are burden for them to go to shool everyday. I'm afraid that the weighty bags might cause humpback to them if carrying this bulky plus heavy schoolbags in the wrong way day by day. The situation here was same as yours before, and the school bags of primary pupils were really heavy.Lol...I could see some small size kids in grade one have to carry the school bags having the same body weight of their school bags. It's worse still some even heavier than their body weight. Majority of the parents as well as variious societies made complain about the thick textbooks of different subjects using in school daily caused the weight of the bags that was actually a heavy burden for the young to carry. School bags with wheels were launched then to suit the need of the kids, so that the kids could pull their bags instead of carry them either on shouder or back. Nowadays all thick textbooks are divided into two portions, that is book A, for the first half of the year, whereas book B are for the second semester. The timetabe is well arranged as well so that three main subjects or so are taught in a single day. In such way pupils don't have to bring all the textbooks and exercise books to shool everyday. The disadvange is, some lazy pupils never like to arrange their school bags according to the daily timetable and they may forget to bring any of the needed books often. Due to this they prefer to bring all the textbooks to school. This shows that such measure doesn't make any sense to these pupils still But this couldn't blame the school autority for this is their own responsibility. To take care of such type of pupils whom their parents don't have much time to check their school bags, they are allowed to keep their textbooks and exercise books which they are not going to revise or do exercises in their respective classroom cupboards. In one of the state here shools are learning and doing exercise in certain subjects using ebooks so that the pupils don't have to carry weighty school bags anymore. Happy posting and have niceday

Heavy school bags are certainly an issue here in India too. My kids are now homeschooled, but when they were at school, there was a system in place. Each child had a locker where they could keep their books and stuff. They thus didn't need to be carrying everything everyday. But the problem with this was that if they needed to study,they would need to bring the books back and very young children can't plan enough to know which books to bring and which to leave behind. Homework was usually given in worksheets and filed at school/home..and we were handed over the files each term. Some parents found a solution by getting two sets of books...one to be kept at school and one at home (or took xerox copies of the books and these were kept at home). When necessary the kids were reminded to bring the particular exercise books...and that wasn't heavy. Another thing was that school lunch was an option. If the parents could afford it, they paid for the lunch and the kids took the school lunch. Thus they didn't need to carry a lunch bag. But all this costs money and not everyone can afford this. 3kg is definitely heavy for a grade 1 student to be carrying daily.

hello youless, My kids bags also are too heavy. Every day they are carrying text books and work books maybe 15 pcs and alsoo 10 notebooks. So i prefer to have them a bag with wheels to make them easier to carry all their things. have a great weekend ahead

Yes, it truly is heavy.. When i was young I used t carry a heavy back to and it doesn't do well for my posture. I really hate carrying books every single day, schools should have lockers.. so kids won't have to carry heavy stuff..

My daughter is 3 and half and is now attending a prep/play school. Her bag has three thin notebooks, her school diary and her empty lunchbox. It's not heavy at all. She has a separate water bottle, not in her bag, but carried separately. I like the way her school operates. Instead of sending her lunch everyday, parents take turns preparing lunch for the whole class once a month. It is definitely easier for me. I have to prepare lunch only once a month, though it does get hectic when it is my day. We had to buy her 5 notebooks for each subject; which we left at school and they send home one set everyday for her homework. We keep all her textbooks at home as she does not need to take her textbook to school. I do think that some schools do require very heavy bags for students.

My son started school last year and indeed his bag is heavy. He has 7 textbooks. We bought him a trolley bag where we put them. Fortunately they leave their books and school things in school every Monday and take them home on Fridays where they have take home assignments. I think carrying things on their back would have an effect on their posture because of the amount of load they have to carry. I am talking base on experience because I have a very heavy backpack when I was studying and I noticed that I am already slouching. Up until now, I still have the tendency to slouch.

Honestly no. Though right now it's the beginning of the school year and who know's what lies ahead. My girls bring home several library books a night for me to read to them. Outside of the library books they do not have much in their bags. Though my 1st grader has way more homework than my 3rd grader has so far.

My child is in grade 2 right now. At his age, I too think that his bag is quite heavy for his age. I really pity my child, so and so that I have hired a nanny to bring him to school and fetch him after school. Well, in the school that they are with, most of the school children at such grade and age still has their nannies tagging with them as they head to school. It would be impossible for each child to carry the weight of their bags. My child's bags have wheels, he can roll it in some areas but there are just places that he must lift the bag which he cannot. I would have wished if they could just leave the bag at school, but then that would not be possible since they have some homework to do, which of course requires their notebooks and books.

yeah..it is sad to know this my kid's bag is full with a bold book, water bottle and their lunch and a set of tools to pray. they pray everyday in school that is a lot for me since the school don't provide a cupboard for students

hey youless , I think you're just concerned too much about your boy ,btw how long does it take for him to get to school . A years old kid can definitely handle a few pounds and maybe that'd be good for 'em in some way . Or you can get rid of one or two heavy stuff in the bag ,like the bottle and pencil-box .

My little brothers bag is super heavy. Feels like if they had put 100 or more heavy rocks inside. He has to carry 11-12 huge notebooks, crayons, pencils, glue, scissor, rulers, etc. plus his lunchbox which is also heavy as he eats a lot. My mom has to carry his backpack. I find it unfair how teachers make poor children carry heavier backpacks than highschool students. They should have more consideration..

And now a days i think education is going in a wrong track :(....Children should study for knowledge but not for marks...Schools are putting pressure on the students for their profits.....I don't like such kind of studies :(

When i was in my school days i used to carry a bag of books that weights about 10 Kg....Then many used to get tired for walking long distances and our parents once requested our headmaster to create a schedule so that children can bring 5 books that weight less that 1 kg.....But our headmaster neglected it.....Then after many days some students started suffering from back ache (ofcourse me too)...Then we and our parents again requested our principal to implement a plan/schedule that allows children to carry less books...He then accepted...From then all is well and even now(after 1-2 yeas of time)some students can't stand erect.....But i was far to cricket for 6 months due to back pain but now i am good.....And i am out of that school and education...Now we are in a college and we ourselves follow a plan....If one of us brings notebooks,the other brings textbooks...SO that made us Happy carrying lees weight :D LOL

Your words made me remember my childhood. Of course my bag was very heavy. I was very skinny and my bag was about 4-5 kg. Just imagine how it would be? He he. There was just 1 pen, may be half pencil, eraser and scale. All the load was of my text and note books. I used to get irritated and it was just annoying to me. I just can't forget my childhood days.

A few years ago I was driving past an elementary school (5-8 year olds) and saw that their 'backpacks' were on wheels like luggage you see today. I thought at first it was lazy then I remember when I was in school and how heavy some of the books were. I believe in the future tablets are going to replace books (or greatly reduce them) and at 601g that is a lot better than 3kg. Thanks Zelo

yes they are way too heavy...

Yes my daughter's bag is heavy since it is loaded with books and notebooks so we always let her use her trolley bag which is a lot more easier to move around and she does not have to carry it,she only needs to pull it.

Oh yes..my daughters' bags are very heavy. I think it is so hard on them and one time I watched a show about how it could cause them to have back problems. The schools in my area do not allow roller back packs..so the kids here have to carry them.

hello youless, i find that weight very heavy for a little boy. i remember before, when i was that age, i carry paper, pencil and eraser and a textbook as big as a notebook. everybody could easily read and write after a month of training. i dont understand the teachings now. and what is the purpose of so many textbooks. it doesnt help the child i guess. it is the way of teaching that is a must and needs improving. ann

I don't have a child yet but my cousin's bags who are in grade school are quite heavy. I remember that back in grade school, my bag is heavy as well. Primarily because of books and notebooks. So the bag that my dad bought me is those rollers so I can just easily pull it.