Is Your Child Carrying Too Much This School Year?

School supplies have been purchased and textbooks have been distributed but is your child carrying too much?
A child's backpack should never weigh more than 10 to 15 percent of the child's body weight.
Make sure your child practices these backpack tips:
- Wear both shoulder straps - wearing both shoulder straps allows the weight of the backpack to be distributed evenly and will promote better body posture.
- Position the backpack correctly - position the backpack over the strongest mid-back muscles, allowing it to rest evenly, and the child to easily put on and remove the backpack.
- Lighten the load - organize the contents of the backpack by placing the heaviest items closest to the back and only carry items that are required for the day.
Pat McNamara, a sports medicine physical therapist with Cone Health Physical and Sports Rehab Center Burlington, and Brooke Powell, a doctor of physical therapy student at Elon University, spoke on Fox 8 House Call about backpack safety.