Making school bags less heavy for children

Every school student has to carry backpacks from home to school and back home. Sometimes, these bags are so heavy that they can cause a number of problems for the children. According to experts, weight of the school bag should be 10 per cent of the student's body weight. So, the weight of the school bag should be maximum 3.5 kgs to 5 kgs. However in reality, the weight of the school bags carried by our children is between 6 to 8 kgs, or even more.

Carrying too much weight in the backpack and wearing it the wrong way can lead to pain and strain. It can have an adverse effect on the child's health. As per experts, a heavy school bag can cause headache, shoulder pain, lower back pain and neck and arm pain. This can lead to fatigue, muscle strain, distortion of the spine's natural curves, rounding of the shoulders and poor body posture. We urge the authorities concerned to adopt a policy to reduce the number of books in the schoolbags so that children find it comfortable to carry.

Abu Elias Linkon,

Banasree, Dhaka,

lightening_sparkle@yahoo.com