Is your child’s backpack too heavy? Safety guidelines from a DC

Jessica Tagliarini, DC, the president of the Connecticut Chiropractic Council and a practicing DC, said a growing spine is vulnerable to back injuries.

No matter what grade students are in as they head back to school, what they are carrying on their back matters.

“Depending on your child’s height and their torso length, you don’t want the bottom of the backpack to fall more than three to four inches below the natural waist line,” said Tagliarini. “Pull the side straps. If when you tighten the straps … it’s still too long, that’s too big of a backpack for your child.”

Tagliarini suggests shopping for a backpack in store and not online.

“Actually go to the store and make sure it fits your child properly. Their spines are still growing, it’s very important to have the right size backpack,” she said.

Another part of properly wearing a backpack is making sure students use both straps; not the “one strap” look.

“It kinda looks cooler, but it’s not cool,” she said. “It’s straining your back on one side and can lead to lots of chronic back issues like scoliosis!”

Scoliosis can worsen over time and often leads to back pain in adulthood if left untreated.

“According to the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, a backpack’s contents and the pack altogether [should] not weigh more than 10-15% of your body weight,” said Tagliarini. “Which isn’t very much when you think about it.”

The heaviest item in a student’s backpack is often a laptop, according to Tagliarini. Even elementary school students are responsible for bringing laptops back and forth from home to school.

She said, “I suggest a laptop case and hold it under your arm rather than put it in your bag and have one more heavy thing in there.”

When packing bags, Tagliarini suggested putting the heaviest items in the back and lighter things up front and to utilize the compartments to redistribute the weight on the back. If a child is bringing a reusable water bottle, parents and guardians can consider only filling the bottle halfway to lose some weight on their back. She also suggested cleaning out folders and binders once a month.

“Have your child go through their folders and get rid of things they don’t need,” she suggested. “I remember one year my child in May had things in his folder from September still.”

Tagliarini added that people should “bend at the knees and not the back” when picking up their bags.
If a child is complaining of back or shoulder pains, they might have the wrong size backpack, she said.

“I’m seeing kids’ postures really affected because they’re trying to compensate for their backpacks being so heavy. They end up with a forward head posture and that combined with looking at devices all the time is not a good combination,” she said.