How much does your child's school bag weigh?

[KathG]

Dd y7 is walking 40 min with a bag that is more than 20% of her weight! ( and that doesn't include her sports bag).

Not sure whether I should accept this as the norm?

we did as young people, sure she will be fine.

As long as it's a rucksack she can wear on both shoulders, and is balanced, she will be fine.

My daughter's bag also seems really heavy (luckily she hasn't got that far to walk). There are days when she's carrying PE kit and a violin as well. They now have lockers, so am encouraging her to bring/take PE kit home for washing on different days to violin (her PE and violin sessions are both on the same two days every week). I've tried to cut back on whats going in there - only what she will eat & drink, a spare umbrella in her locker so she doesn't always have to carry one just in case.

DS's bag weighed a ton or felt like it at any rate. This is normal in Ireland to have kids lugging really heavy bags around. Anecdotally, you hear of kids developing back problems in adulthood. DS is in First Year (yr 7 equivalent). They have very roomy lockers but need to bring stuff home for homework anyway.

He was told in school his 30 litre rucksack was way too small. He also has low muscle tone and the physio recommended a brand of bag which has shoulder supports which displace the weight away from the shoulders. We settled on a 36 litre version. They seem to be popular here. I was sceptical, especially as it cost an eye watering ?75 (about £60) but we tried it out this evening and the difference is very striking, it definitely feels much lighter.

My bag seems to weigh as much as me! Especially when I have to take a sports bag as well. I've taken to leaving any book/stationary that won't be needed for that day at home or in my locker so I'm not lugging it about all day. I think a lot of people have the same problem, getting down the hall ways is murder cause everyones carrying bags the size of houses.