Heavy Backpacks Are Dangerous: Don't Let Your Child Overload

The comic strip, For Better or For Worse, shows April picking out, and loading, a cool backpack.

And here she is trudging off to school with a backpack that is way too heavy for her. Experts warn that heavy backpacks can cause back and neck problems in children, which often are passed over as "growing pains" and go untreated. Rule of thumb: if your child sticks out his or her stomach while wearing a backpack, it is likely too heavy. Be sure to consider ergonomics as well as coolness.

Posted September 4, 2007, filed in It's That Time