When dealing with young ones, sometimes you have to pick your battles, but here’s a fight that’s definitely worth fighting: While kids may clamor for a backpack that’s a certain color or has a favorite cartoon character on it, parents need to worry about the ergonomics of the bag. UC Riverside Researchers reported that 64% of students between the ages of 11 and 15 had back pain related to their backpack. 64%!!! Don’t let your child suffer just because he wanted Spiderman on his bag.

The size of the backpack is crucial. We all behave the same way — the bigger the bag, the more stuff we pack in. Limit the size of the backpack and it will reduce the load. We already mentioned that 15% of the body weight is the most weight that anyone should carry, with an absolute maximum load of 25 lbs. But obviously, the lighter the load, the better.

The bag should be no wider than the shoulders, and ideally, no wider than the torso. The length of the bag is often problematic for little ones. At most, the bag should extend from the shoulders to a couple of inches below the waist or belly button. That way, when the straps are adjusted properly, the bag will rest on the upper hips region or low back area, which is more stable and stronger. If you can’t see your child’s butt when he/she’s wearing her backpack, the straps are not adjusted properly or the bag is too big.

Well-padded, adjustable shoulder straps are typically standard with well-constructed bags, but try the bag on your child. The shoulder straps should rest on the shoulders pretty much in the middle between the shoulder caps and the neck. By the way, encourage your kids to wear their backpack with both straps at all times; otherwise they look like a crooked mess as their body is fighting with the weight of their bag. That’s one that I always nag Toddy about when he runs out of the house in the morning with his backpack hanging off one shoulder.

Select a bag with adjustable chest and waist straps. These will help to distribute the load on the hips and chest, which improves standing posture and comfort. All straps should be adjusted to keep the bag close to the back and the load close to the hips. But even with a well-fitted bag, you might need to remind your child to stand up straight, as the natural tendency is to fight gravity on the load by leaning forward.

Compartments inside and out are useful to prevent items from shifting around as you move, and it also expedites finding your stuff in there. An additional handle at the top of the bag facilitates moving the bag around and gives the option to hand carry it for a short time.

When packing, heavy items like a laptop or large textbook should be in the rear of the backpack so that it rests close to the back.

The load being carried in children’s backpacks has become a real problem as schools are cutting expenses and sometimes eliminating lockers and storage areas for students. Work with your children, PTA and teachers to reduce the number of books and binders being carried back and forth between home and school. If your school has come up with a good way to reduce book carrying, please share it with us. If you would like some assistance to convey to your school board the importance of this problem, I’ll be happy to help. In the meantime, select a well-fitted backpack and keep the load as light as possible!