July 2008
Backpacks for back to school
Our test finds sixth-graders carrying a heavy load in their backpacks.
Ever-increasing scholastic demands may mean more homework for today's students. And that could mean children are lugging home more books in their backpacks. How heavy a load are they carrying? A team from Consumer Reports this spring visited three elementary schools in Amityville, N.Y., to find out. We checked out a second-grade classroom, a fourth grade, and a sixth grade. What we found was not so surprising: The sixth-graders had the heaviest load at an average backpack weight of 18.4 pounds. Next came the second-graders' backpacks at 5.3 pounds, and finally the fourth-graders had the smallest average backpack weight at 4.6 pounds.
Consumer Reports' technicians weighed 56 children from three schools: Northwest Elementary, Park Avenue Memorial Elementary, and Edmund Miles Middle School. We weighed each child wearing his or her backpack and then once again without the backpack. The second-graders carried around a slightly heavier load than the fourth-graders in their school district, perhaps because they fill their bags with a few extras, such as snacks and stuffed animals.
But the sixth-graders, who were honors students, could only visit their lockers first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, and at the end of the day—a common occurrence in middle schools and junior highs across the U.S. The students had to climb three flights of stairs and had to carry most of what they needed that day on their backs. Many of the sixth-graders were eager to tell us about their too-heavy backpacks and complained of bruises and posture problems. One boy said he had visited a doctor because of back pain from his backpack weight. And many students said they walked to school, although at least one boy said his mother drove him because his backpack was just too heavy to carry.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says a loaded backpack should weigh no more than 10 to 20 percent of a child's total weight, but Consumer Reports recommends staying closer to 10 percent. So how did our students fare? The backpacks weighed an average of 17.2 percent of the sixth-graders body weight, 5.6 percent of the fourth-graders body weight, and 8.6 percent of the second-graders body weight. Keep in mind that our findings were the result of a small sample of students from three classes within the same school district.
Safety tips. In 2004 about 7,600 hospital-treated injuries in the U.S. were associated with backpacks, and the most vulnerable age group
was 9- to 16-year-olds. So how can you ensure that your child's backpack is as safe as possible? The pack should be worn about
2 inches above the waist and with both shoulder straps, close to the body. Straps should be shortened (and the excess length
fastened securely out of the way) so that they can't get stepped on or caught in doors. Reflective trim on the back and sides
of the pack adds visibility in the fall and winter months, when kids might travel to and from school in near-darkness.
Buying advice. When shopping for a new backpack, look for the following features:
Ever-increasing scholastic demands may mean more homework for today's students. And that could mean children are lugging home more books in their backpacks. How heavy a load are they carrying? A team from Consumer Reports this spring visited three elementary schools in Amityville, N.Y., to find out. We checked out a second-grade classroom, a fourth grade, and a sixth grade. What we found was not so surprising: The sixth-graders had the heaviest load at an average backpack weight of 18.4 pounds. Next came the second-graders' backpacks at 5.3 pounds, and finally the fourth-graders had the smallest average backpack weight at 4.6 pounds.
Consumer Reports' technicians weighed 56 children from three schools: Northwest Elementary, Park Avenue Memorial Elementary, and Edmund Miles Middle School. We weighed each child wearing his or her backpack and then once again without the backpack. The second-graders carried around a slightly heavier load than the fourth-graders in their school district, perhaps because they fill their bags with a few extras, such as snacks and stuffed animals.
But the sixth-graders, who were honors students, could only visit their lockers first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, and at the end of the day—a common occurrence in middle schools and junior highs across the U.S. The students had to climb three flights of stairs and had to carry most of what they needed that day on their backs. Many of the sixth-graders were eager to tell us about their too-heavy backpacks and complained of bruises and posture problems. One boy said he had visited a doctor because of back pain from his backpack weight. And many students said they walked to school, although at least one boy said his mother drove him because his backpack was just too heavy to carry.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says a loaded backpack should weigh no more than 10 to 20 percent of a child's total weight, but Consumer Reports recommends staying closer to 10 percent. So how did our students fare? The backpacks weighed an average of 17.2 percent of the sixth-graders body weight, 5.6 percent of the fourth-graders body weight, and 8.6 percent of the second-graders body weight. Keep in mind that our findings were the result of a small sample of students from three classes within the same school district.
Consumer Reports technicians talk to sixth-graders at Edmund Miles Middle School in Amityville, N.Y.
Buying advice. When shopping for a new backpack, look for the following features:
- Shoulder straps that are contoured and padded to soften the load.
- A waist belt to stabilize the pack and transfer weight to the hips.
- A padded or quilted back or one with mesh fabric to make the bag less sweaty on steamy days.
- Compression straps on the sides to tighten a partially-filled backpack.
- Multiple pockets: small ones for a calculator, a cell phone, and keys, and a concealed inside pocket for cash.
- Dual zippers for the main compartment.
- Waterproof, colorfast material.
