I wish to raise concerns about the weight of school bags. This morning alone, my daughter had to carry in excess of 10kg which included school books, P.E. kit and musical instrument. as she herself only weighs 29kg this is over 30% of her body weight she is having to carry throughout the day, myself as an adult would struggle carry this weight alone. I have searched for relevant government guidelines regarding this point but to date am unable to find any. however many health agencies recommend carrying no more than 10% of the child’s body weight (NHS) 2012, along with Dockrell.S, Simms.C and Blake.C (2013) who suggest 'The recommended load limit for school children to carry varies from 5% to 20% of their body weight ' to state just a few.

Many studies have been conducted into the effects of carrying excessive weight on the muscular skeletal system in developing children with the outcomes stating the detrimental effect it could have in later life. Moore.M.J, White.G.L and Moore.D.L (2007) in their study found that 'it is also associated with lost school time, lost school sports time, and greater chiropractic utilization' therefore carrying such heavy bags could in theory have a detrimental effect on a child’s education.

The Health and safety Executive make suggestions that in this instance Section 3 of the Health and safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 impose some duties on employers towards persons other than their employees such as school children. including assessment of the risks arising from work activities which affect the health and safety of those not in their employment. My daughters schools own policy on Safeguarding states that :

 

The definition for Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in Working

Together to Safeguard Children 2013 is:

• protecting children from maltreatment;

• preventing impairment of children‟s health or development;

• ensuring children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of

safe and effective care;

• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

 

Bearing this in mind perhaps an assessment to meet these claims in preventing impairment of children's health could be justified.

 

As a concerned parent asking for some action to be taken on this matter, ideally I would like all children to have access to a locker (perhaps on a shared basis) or perhaps children could at the end of each day leave books they don't require for homework at school in their form rooms to be collected the following morning or on days needed.

At the very least some form of education towards their habits on how they carry and pack bags may be beneficial. A study by Vijal.J et al (2013) had positive effects on back pain when an education programme was put in place.

 

If action is not taken, children's health could very well be affected in the future. Back pain accounts for over £1 billion pounds a year of government funding through treatment and benefits, we can only speculate as adults, how much could have been attributed to our own school bags as children. 

 

 

 

References

 

Dockrell.S, Simms.C and Blake.C (2013), Schoolbag Weight Limit: Can It Be Defined?, Journal of School Health: Volume 83, Issue 5, pages 368–377, May 2013, [Online URL] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josh.12040/abstract, [09/04/2014]

 

 

Moore.M.J, White.G.L and Moore.D.L (2007), Association of Relative Backpack Weight With Reported Pain, Pain Sites, Medical Utilization, and Lost School Time in Children and Adolescents, Journal of School Health: Volume 77, Issue 5, pages 232–239, May 2007, [Online URL] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2007.00198.x/abstract,[09/04/2014]

 

NHS, (2012), Child back pain 'linked to school bags', [Online URL]

www.nhs.uk/news/2012/03march/Pages/rucksack-bags-back-pain-children.aspx [09/04/2014]

 

 

Vidal J1, Borràs PA, Ponseti FJ, Cantallops J, Ortega FB, Palou P. (2013), Effects of a postural education program on school backpack habits related to low back pain in children.

 

Eur Spine J. 2013 Apr;22(4):782-7. doi: 10.1007/s00586-012-2558-7. Epub 2012 Nov 10.[Online URL] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23143093?dopt=Abstract, [09/04/2014]