Now comes back the school year with its lists of supplies to buy among which the reflective backpack requires special attention.
A backpack ill-suited to the child’s height and weight, poorly fitted or not properly worn can cause back pain or injury. Here are specialist tips for choosing, fitting and wearing the bag as well as some quality criteria to prevent, for example, water infiltration.
A backpack is clearly preferable to a shoulder bag for a better weight distribution. The bag should have wide padded shoulder straps to distribute the weight over a larger area of the shoulders.
The bottom of the bag should not go lower than the curve of the lower back and never lower than 10 cm below the waist. Anchorage points should be 2.5 to 5 cm below the shoulders. A low-backed bag exerts a greater pressure on the shoulders, resulting in poor posture.
Several professional organizations recommend that the bag and its contents weigh no more than 10% to 15% of the weight of the child. It is therefore important that the bag be made of a resistant but light reflective material. Leather bags are discouraged because of their greater weight.
A well-padded dorsal area reduces pressure points on the body and can prevent injuries, as children often tend to put the material pell-mell into the bag.
It is often advisable to choose a bag with an abdominal strap in order to better distribute the weight evenly on the back, waist and hips.
An interesting safety feature is the presence of reflectors or a reflective fabric to improve visibility at dusk or dawn.
Beyond the characteristics important for the prevention of back pain, there are the quality criteria of the garment. The Consumer Reports consumer magazine suggests checking for stitching, loose threads, or frayed fabric edges that can weaken the seams and get caught in the zipper and finally, if the zippers have a cloth flap that covers them to prevent water seeping.
It is advisable to advise the child to carry the bag on both shoulders and not on one shoulder.
It is advisable to check regularly with the child if items cannot be left in the classroom. The heaviest items should be placed in the center of the bag.
Other items in school supplies can pose health risks as recently demonstrated by tests conducted by the French consumer association UFC-Queue Choicer: Toxic school supplies: products to avoid, others to choose.