School bags damage spine

Updated on: Thursday, June 17, 2010

Parents know it, schools acknowledge it and doctors warn against it- a heavy school bag can damage a child's spine irrevocably.

In spite of serious campaigns, little has been done to reduce the schoolchild's daily burden.

In fact, today's children are unable to walk straight and tall â€” they stagger to school, bent forward under weighty bags. Like some students who are hardly 3.5 ft tall and weighing less than 25 kg. Studying in Class 3 of a reputed ICSE school rushes to the gates, but the load on his back prevents him from walking fast, and he stops to catch his breath.

Doctorsâ€™ say that a child of this age and built should carry only 2.5 kg. He alone is not the one suffering, many across the nation. Every morning, lakhs of children across the nation carry more than 5 kg on their tender backs. This problem cuts across all syllabi â€” state and central schools.

Many children these days complain of aching backs and shoulders. Like another student of a state school in Basavanagudi, who carries an average of 8 kilos. "I stay 1 km from school and walk down. My shoulders hurt a lot, but I have no other option. I take books according to the timetable."

Some schools have earnestly taken measures to either provide lockers to students, or allow them to carry only texts or only notebooks.

School bags damage spine

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