May 4--Maybe you're a parent or family member who has picked up a child's backpack--only to be staggered by its heft.
Or maybe, like a Buffalo News reader who lives in Williamsville, you have observed children walking in your neighborhood while bent under the burdens of enormous packs. "I have become concerned," wrote the reader, in a recent letter to The News.
Whatever your proximity to the subject, it's a fact that heavy backpacks can burden Western New York schoolchildren from time to time-- including in the youngest grades. They have to haul textbooks for homework, projects and lunch supplies, and then there's all that sports equipment...It can add up to quite a load. Sometimes, it seems like the pack might even outweigh the kid.
"I have kids myself, and one time I picked up [my daughter's] pack
and I was like, 'What do you have in here?' " said Michael Calandra, principal of Mill Middle School in the Williamsville district. "I don't see it as a huge issue. But are there some kids who are carrying too much weight? Yes, there could be."
The wellness dilemma then becomes this: whether carrying such heavy weight for short periods each school day harms the backs of growing children.
According to a local chiropractor, the burden of backpack weight on a young child's back could indeed result in real back trouble.
"You've got a weight on your back pulling you backward. Your core muscles -- your abdominal muscles -- have to counteract that weight," said Dr. George A. Lisjak, who runs Universal Chiropractic in Hamburg. "What happens is that those postural muscles become overdeveloped. Then when you don't have that weight on there, you're going to have a muscular imbalance. You're going to slouch, basically."
The issue is one that has prompted attention on the state level.
State Sen. William T. Stachowski has introduced legislation calling for the state Department of Education to conduct a study examining whether the weight of school backpacks is harming the health and wellness of schoolchildren in New York. "Those books are heavy, and the workbooks are heavy, and they get a lot of homework," said Stachowski, a Democrat who represents the 58th Senate District.
Stachowski said his legislation, which has been stuck in committee for the past couple of years, was prompted by a letter from a concerned parent in his district.
"This parent was saying, can you help us?" he said. "If it's not an isolated situation, then maybe we can put some sort of limitation on it."
Calandra, the Mill Middle principal, said that a few trends are starting to lessen backpack weights in his school and in other educational settings.
One, he said, is the shift toward online textbooks and materials. Children in grades 5 through 8 in his school have at least one class in which they have an option of using an online textbook instead of a print text, Calandra said.
Second, the principal said, students are not allowed to carry their backpacks with them through the school day anymore. They are supposed to stop back at their lockers and only carry around what they need for the immediate future.
Some kids have even started to use rolling packs instead of backpacks, he said. "I think what started that was some of the teachers. They use those, and the kids see them do it," Calandra said.
Meanwhile, on a practical level, how can parents tell right now if their child's health is being affected by a too-heavy schoolbag?
It's all in the posture, the chiropractor said.
"Just look at them from the side. You'll see that they're basically slouching forward," said Lisjak, who has taught courses on the human body at Trocaire and a college in Georgia. "Their chin would look like it is jutting out."
Some ways to counteract the problem, as suggested by Lisjak:
--Limit the weight of the child's backpack, talk to the teacher or school if necessary about your concerns. If a bag must be carried, carry a tote with your hands and arms instead of a backpack, and whatever you do, don't sling your backpack over one shoulder and carry it lopsided -- that's worse than wearing it the regular way.
--Do exercises with your child to counteract the effect of carrying the weight. Ask a gym trainer, physical therapist or chiropractor for ideas on which movements would be effective.
--Try chiropractic care for your child, if you notice that the burden of schoolbooks is having an effect and posture is getting worse. Recurrent headaches are another sign of trouble, Lisjak said.
Lisjak said he keeps a close eye on his own two children, Scarlett and Tangier, for just these reasons.
"I see them struggling to carry those bags," he said with a laugh. "But my kids get adjusted all the time."
Have an idea for a Be Well column? Write to The News at: getwell@buffnews.com .
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