A painful ordeal

Back-breaking issue

Every time schools reopen, the issue of children carrying school bags weigh heavier than them makes headlines but there have been no visible signs of the stakeholders doing their bit to lighten the burden of students.

Doctors have time and again warned that heavy school bags will not only alter and affect the posture of the child but also have long-term health consequences. Parents too have voiced their concerns about their wards having to carry back-breaking loads to and from school. But none of these have managed to prod the education department and school management to take  any action.

Doctors point out that a child’s shoulder cannot carry heavy weights. The load will also hamper the growth of the muscles and affect the structure of the bone.

    Dr H Paramesh, a paediatric pulmonologist, environmentalist and chairman of New Sirona Center for Health Promotion, says the weight of the school bag, must be only 10 percent of the weight of the child. He adds a lot of children come to him with complaints of pain in the upper shoulder and lower back. “Heavy school bags alter the posture of the child and in the long run weaken the strength of the spine. This bent posture is continued even at school where modern furniture is designed in such a way that the child is forced to bend over rather than sit straight,” explains Paramesh. He also states the persistent pain from continuously carrying heavy school bags could  leave the child tired and lowers their self esteem.

Reduced physical activity adds to the problem. Carrying these school bags seems to be the only physical exercise children tend to have these days, observes Dr Pradeep Kocheeppan, shoulder surgeon and sports medicine specialist, Apollo Hospitals. “I find a lot of children in high school complain of severe shoulder pain. This is because there is not enough movement for the upper limb and  shoulder muscles. Even those who sit before the television or computer for long hours with limited physical activity are found not to have well-developed muscles,” he explains.

  Parents couldn’t agree more with the medical fraternity when they say the sight of their wards lugging these heavy bags leaves them worried.

     Darshan, a father of teenage daughter and son, says he raised the issue with the school management but no corrective steps have been taken. “My son is in class 10 and he ends up climbing four floors with a heavy bag and my daughter has to carry her bag to the fifth floor. I’ve also noticed that my son now has a slouching posture and complains of frequent upper shoulder pain.” He wonders why the managements don’t draw up a system where students are made to carry only the required books.

There are a few parents who suggest that either the books be kept in school or there should be two sets of books (one at school and the other at home).

Ashok, an IT professional and father of two children aged nine and three, says since his children are still young the bags aren’t too heavy.

   “My daughter doesn’t have to walk to the bus stop with her bag because I drop her. This is also one of the reasons why I feel the load is not a burden to her and the time she carries the bag is limited,” he explains.  School management say they are working towards drawing up a system which replaces books with files or trying to work around a timetable where children manage to complete the homework in school and carry very little back home.

      Sri Kumaran Children’s Home has developed a locker system where the children can keep the books back in class and carry home only what is necessary. Deepa Sridhar, principal of the school, says, “We have designed a system where the students will have homework and will have to thoroughly study only one subject a day. So, they carry home only what books they require. We don’t use a file system but have worksheets which the students complete in class itself.”

Tattva School, managed by the Pearson Education Services, too has evolved a similar system. Triveni Muralidhar, principal of the school, says grade one to four have very little or no homework but children in the higher classes carry the books required for them to study.

“The books are kept in the classroom and are taken home only when they have homework, which is limited, and if the parents want to scan through the classwork. We also work on consolidating the class and home work in one book rather than having too many note books,” she adds.