The new school year is just around the corner.This means that the hottest time has come for parents – the time to buy things needed for school. And an ordinary school backpack is far from the last place on this list. It would seem that what could be simpler – to buy a school backpack, fortunately, parents have a wide choice of backpacks for every taste and color. However, in fact, buying a backpack is not such a simple matter. Not every beautiful backpack is suitable for a child. Today we will talk about how to choose a school backpack. School backpacks, briefcases are the most important purchases. The first thing you need to do is decide what exactly you want to buy – a bag with a shoulder strap, a backpack or a briefcase. Although orthopedists unanimously recommend buying orthopedic school backpacks for children. This recommendation is explained very simply. The child carries a fairly heavy briefcase for a very long time. If the child carries the briefcase on one shoulder all the time, he will very quickly develop poor posture. Moreover, such a load will negatively affect the child's spine for the rest of his life. Scoliosis is one of the most harmless diseases that are fraught with uneven distribution of the load. But wearing a backpack removes the risk of developing such complications from the musculoskeletal system. When wearing a backpack, the weight of the books is distributed evenly, thus, the load is uniform and does not lead to poor posture and other complications. And, in addition, wearing a backpack leaves the child's hands free, which is also an important plus.
What should I look for when choosing a knapsack?
Most often, when choosing a school backpack, parentspay attention to brightness and beauty. Of course, these indicators are important, but they should not become decisive when choosing a school backpack. The correct choice of a school backpack is especially important for the youngest students - for future first-graders. When choosing a backpack, the material from which this backpack is made is very important. Most often, either leatherette or synthetic fabrics are used for their production. The fabric used to make a school backpack should have the following qualities:
- The material should be lightweight so that the knapsack does not weigh as much as the books themselves.
- In addition, the material must be extremely durable. School bag for a year will often serve as a child and a pillow, and a chair and even a football. In order to withstand such a load, the backpack should be made of a very durable material. Especially strong should be school knapsacks for boys.
- It is equally important that the material is impregnated with a special mud and water repellent composition. This will allow you to quickly and easily remove dirt from the backpack without exposing it to washing.
- And the last thing that needs to be addressed is a specialattention, this is the frost resistance of tissues. If the fabric does not have similar properties, then at a temperature of -1, the fabric will harden and resemble an icy layer. If the label of the knapsack does not indicate if the material is frost-resistant, pay attention to who is the producing country. Most often, this is the fault of producers from countries with warm climates, where there is never minus temperature.
There are two types of backpack sewing:with and without lining. It is preferable to buy a backpack with a lining. And the lining should also be made of a material that is easy to wash and dries quickly. This will allow you to easily keep your school bag in order. Spilled drinks, forgotten breakfasts, leaky pens - you never know what can end up inside a school backpack? Another very important requirement for a school backpack is one small, seemingly completely insignificant feature. The back inner wall of the backpack must be padded. This is necessary so that it fits tightly to the child's back and supports the child's spine. Such a back of the backpack reduces the risk of spinal curvature to almost zero. A school backpack with an orthopedic back is exactly what a healthy child needs. After all, spinal curvature carries much more danger than it may seem at first glance. This is a constant pain syndrome, and problems with the health of internal organs, including the cardiovascular system. It is unlikely that any parent would wish this on their child. You should also pay close attention to the shoulder straps of the school backpack. They largely determine how practical and comfortable the school backpack will be. The straps must be adjustable in length, since in just six months your baby can grow significantly in height. In addition, it is extremely unpleasant when the straps, under the weight of the load, begin to cut into the baby's shoulders. In order to avoid such a situation, which causes significant discomfort to the child, when choosing a school backpack, you need to pay attention to the width of the straps. The optimal width of the straps should be about 5 centimeters. One of the straps should be equipped with a special snap-on mechanism that makes it easier to take off and put on the backpack in those moments when you are not around to help him. School bags and backpacks should not cause difficulty in handling for children, otherwise the backpack becomes simply unsuitable for the child.
Allowable weight of the knapsack for the child
Speaking about how to choose the right portfolio forchild, it is impossible not to mention that the child is forced to carry a fairly large weight every day, which consists of various components, such as:
- Textbooks. Already in the first grade the child has to carry a large number of textbooks daily.
- Notebooks and other office supplies, which in sum also have not such a small weight.
- A sports school designed to attend physical education classes.
- Indoor shoes. In our time, almost all modern schools insist on wearing children's shoes.
- School bags for girls should have extra pockets. After all, all the girls, without exception, are great women of fashion, and they will appreciate the pocket for the mirror or the handkerchief.
That is why, as already mentioned above, the backpackshould be as light as possible. The maximum possible weight of a school bag for a 7-year-old child is no more than 700 grams. It is also very important to know what load is considered the maximum permissible for children of different ages. Scientists have conducted various studies on how carrying a heavy school bag affects a child's health and well-being. And here is the conclusion they came to. The safe weight is:
- For pupils of lower grades, from the first to the fourth, this figure is 2 - 2.5 kg.
- For pupils of middle classes, from the fifth to the eighth, the figure should not exceed 3, 5 kg.
- And for pupils of the senior classes the weight can not exceed 5 kg.
However, these are very average data.In order to calculate everything taking into account the physiological characteristics of a particular child, orthopedic doctors recommend using the following formula. Subtract 10% of the child's weight and subtract 200 grams. This will be the maximum allowable weight for a child that will not cause him any harm. However, no matter what doctors say, the Ministry of Education does not listen to them much and the weight of textbooks significantly exceeds the recommended norm. Children's school bags are often filled to capacity. That is why it is so important to choose a really good school bag that will evenly distribute the load on the child's body and reduce the likelihood of overwork and the development of various complications from the musculoskeletal system and muscle frame. As mentioned above, modern children are forced to carry with them to school not only a sports uniform, but also a change of shoes. Often, parents put it in a school backpack, but this should not be done. Firstly, this will significantly increase the weight of the backpack, and secondly, it can deform the hard inner back. This, in turn, leads to uneven loading of the child's spine and development of scoliosis. In addition, change shoes often stain not only the inner lining, but also books and notebooks. Do not naively hope that your child will pre-wrap shoes in a plastic bag. That is why it is more practical to buy a special cloth bag for shoes. These bags are presented in a very wide range, and you will definitely be able to choose the one that will suit your child's school bag. Often, schools try to solve the problem of excess in children's school bags in other ways. For example, lockers in the changing rooms allow children to leave change shoes at school, rather than carry them with them every day. Some schools have the so-called "practice of two sets of textbooks." One set of textbooks is in the room where the child studies, and the child uses the second set at home. This practice is most relevant for the youngest schoolchildren - first graders. The same is true for sports uniforms, supplies for crafts and drawing lessons. All these things can be stored in specially designated areas at school. In addition to all of the above, when buying a school backpack, you should consider several other aspects that parents often neglect:
Of course, you may have to spendseveral days to find a suitable backpack. But keep in mind that school backpacks for first-graders, of course, cause very different reviews, but they are very similar in one thing. The best school backpacks are high-quality backpacks. Do not save money and time on searching - all this will come back to you later with three. Sooner or later, you will definitely choose the backpack that will serve your child faithfully - truth, and also take care of his health. And let your backpack always have a diary with only A's.