If your kid has been coming home with a hunched back, headache or sore muscles, don't take it as a sign of a tired school kid who played too much. There is something very specific you are doing that's making your kid suffer in pain.
Wondering what it is?
Well, it is their heavy school bags! Yes, you read it right. The load you are allowing your kid to carry is causing serious health problems.
Your kids' school bag is the culprit
The heavy load of books is causing as many as 67 percent Indian school kids aged between 7 and 13 years to develop backaches and hunchbacks. A recent study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India has revealed these shocking numbers.
The survey also made some other startling revelations.
- Almost 88 percent children in the age group of 7-13 years carry more than 45 percent of their weight on their backs
- This weight includes art kits and sports equipments such as skates, Taekwondo equipment, a swim bag, cricket kit
- It also suggested that these kids are lugging such heavy bags every alternate day and this is leading to serious spinal damage and irreversible back problems in most of them
BK Rao, chairman of the commerce body’s health committee further detailed the medical problems caused in most kids due to their heavy bags.
Health issues due to heavy bags
He mentioned that kids who carry heavy bags are susceptible to early slip disc, spondylitis, spondylolisthesis, persistent back aches, early degeneration of spine and postural scoliosis, among other issues.
Rao was also quoted as saying that stress from such excess weights may directly affect the growth of the musculoskeletal system. This is especially true for kids who carry their bags on one shoulder.
"If children start getting back pains at such a young age, there is a possibility that they will have the problem life-long," he said.
Continue reading to see what the law says about sending kids to school with heavy bags and how you can help your child avoid carrying it!
What the law says about heavy school bags
Many of you may not know this, but there is a law that specifies how much a child's school bag should weigh. It also specifies till which grade, a child can avoid carrying a school bag altogether.
- As per the Children’s School Bag Act 2006, a school bag cannot weigh more than 10 percent of a child's weight
- The same act states that nursery and kindergarten students should not carry school bags with them
- It also states that schools must have specific guidelines on what to bring to school and what to leave behind at home
- As per this act, schools must also have locker facilities for stories school bags
Since this is an official act, as a parent if you feel that your child's school bag is causing health trouble or is too heavy in the first place, you are eligible to raise a complaint with the school authorities.
However, just to get your kids back into their usual healthy form, it's important you follow three golden rules of quality lifestyle.
- Involve your child in a sport or physical activity of his/her choice and make sure they are regular at it
- You must also concentrate on your kids diet and make sure they get high amount of protein, fibre and carbohydrates, all of which are needed for a healthy body to function properly. This means breakfast is very important and a strict 'No' to junk food.
- Finally, you must engage your child is some form of meditation, to relax the mind, body and soul
All of these combined will help your child be more healthy and strong and ready for a long day at school (hopefully, without a heavy school bag)!
Read: Parents are sending their kids with long sleeves, you should too!
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(Image credite: Pixabay, iStockphoto, Goddard Photography)
