Yup. This is actually a fairly serious issue amongs Malaysian primary and secondary school students. Thanks to
the Sun, here's a checklist for backpack safety as well as some tips on "How to Carry a Backpack".
The Sun also interviewed a chiropractor, Dr Christopher Ries on the impact of improperly carried bags.
"The body is a bio-mechanical machine designed to withstand physical stress, so backpacks must be worn securely to become part of the body," he said.
"It must be worn tight and high and the load should be on both shoulders as it can affect the muscles that support the shoulders and mid-back of the spine, especially if the backpack is slung on one side. A lot of the muscles in the area are not designed for heavy load, especially if the bags are hanging loosely with heavy contents."
"There is no ideal weight as it would depend on the child's size, age and other factors including the activity level, nutrition and how long the weight is borne for... If you carry a load which results in aches and pains, the load is too much so you make necessary adjustments like reducing the load or the time you carry it.
"It must be remembered that when the muscles fatigue, the joint takes over and it is not designed to handle too much stress."
I wonder if the day will come whereby our kids will only be carrying and reading e-books...
Buy lah those bags with wheels and rollers where the children can just pull it like a luggage bag we normally used for travelling. Nowadays there are a lot of this kind of bag for school children.
ReplyDeleteleave books in the drawer la so simple..
ReplyDeletesome schools dont want students to leave them in the drawer, eg mine.
ReplyDeletebut the students didnt care anyway. :)
I left my books in the desk last time..left side was mine and the right side was the noon session's one. No one would usually conteng the books because they wouldn't wanna risk theirs being conteng-ed as well =P
ReplyDeleteI think they should make lockers in school lah. I dun mind paying for my sister to keep her books in lockers. Kesian you know see them carry so many books to school but luckily, some teachers are nice enough to inform the student that they can share text books in class as long as they finish their homework
Though I agree that lockers is a solution, but lockers never last in school.
ReplyDeleteProbably the only thing we can do is just to ask the kids to "backpack safely". :)
I used to leave most of my textbooks (i.e. books we are forced to buy but completely useless when it comes to studying at home) in school, even during Form 6.
ReplyDeleteThey should provide lockers. In some, newer, primary schools, desks have locks.
desks with locks are only suitable for single session schools. most schools have two sessions so it makes it not practical.
ReplyDeletelockers wont last long. malaysian mentality is still 3rd-world.
so in the end who suffers? our kids and theirs.
Things must have changed a lot since I left secondary school (only 5 years ago)..
ReplyDeleteMy time.. inside my bag was nothing but a water bottle and one or two books the most..
Students wont use most of their textbooks anyway (if they are like me).. no point bringing them..