Backpack Woes.

Backpacks have got to be some kind of torture device for kids. It's only the first week of school and both of the girls come out and drop the bags off their backs as fast as they can. I pick them up and I can't believe how heavy they are. Homework I get it they're going to have it and for the most part it's manageable. It's the fact that many of the books are heavy and I'm worried about them being on my daughter's backs. When I was younger I carried an extremely heavy backpack and my mom swears it's the reason I ended up with scoliosis. I can not confirm that that's the reason but the shoulder I carried my backpack on is lower than the other. So needless to say I don't want my daughters to have a similar issue all because they're carrying heavy books for school. I have been able to come up with some tips so I will share. First off I think it's important to make sure that the backpack they have is appropriate for their age. This is easier than you would think. Both L.L. Bean and Landsend have great backpacks and they tell you both in their catalogs and web pages the age of the child who should carry the backpack. Next they should be wearing them correctly. My third grader comes out with both straps on her shoulders the right way. She doesn't care about the cool look factor. My seventh grader the one with the much heavier books will not do it right. She just slings it on one shoulder which is exactly what I don't want her to do. Luckily for her the school has put two of the larger books on the school website so they don't need to take them home as long as they have access to a computer which she does. The ones that are not on line well if I see that they come home a lot I'm going to order them from half.com or amazon using the ISBN number in the front of the book. You can usually get the textbooks for a very reasonable price used and then there is no more worries about the backpacks and another bonus is I don't have to worry about them forgetting the book which has already happened once. So there you have it a few helpful hits to ease the girls backs.