Tips before starting school

How heavy can a school bag really be?

Raphael and Matthias have already packed their school bags and are looking forward to getting started.

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

(Bild: Werner Harrer Fotograf)

In twelve days' time, children in Upper Austria will be heading back to the classroom - for many of them for the first time. Special attention should be paid to the right school bag. An orthopaedic surgeon from Linz explains what to look out for when buying a school bag and how heavy it should be.

Top models, superheroes, horses, tractors, plain or colorful: there are no limits to the motifs that can be chosen for school bags. But no matter what they look like, one thing should apply to all of them: They must fit and not be too heavy. After all, a full school bag with several exercise books, books, pencil box, snack box and even a drinking bottle can quickly weigh a few kilograms. This can be a challenge, especially for the very young and small pupils.

Ten percent of the body weight
But at what point is it too heavy for children? As a rule of thumb, a maximum of ten to 20 percent of body weight should be carried for longer distances. For a journey to school of less than ten minutes, it should be a maximum of 30 percent. For a child weighing 30 kilograms, a fully packed school bag should therefore not weigh more than three to six or nine kilograms. "Before consequential damage occurs, muscle tension and pain set in. However, there is no scientific evidence that the use of a school bag leads to damage," says the expert, reassuring worried parents.

Adjusting the school bag is even more important
According to Reinhold Ortmaier, Head of the Orthopaedics Department at the Ordensklinikum Linz, it is not the weight but the position of the school bag that is even more important for correct posture: "Nowadays, pupils no longer have to walk for hours to school. Most of them are taken by bus, streetcar or by their parents almost as far as the entrance."

A good guideline is if the children can easily pick up the school bag and put it on themselves. The school bag should end at the shoulder. Then nothing can go wrong.

Reinhold Ortmaier, Abteilungsleiter der Orthopädie am Ordensklinikum Linz

Bild: Werner Harrer Fotograf

Pay attention to the width of the straps
It's not "cool" for health, even with shorter routes, if the school bag hangs too low down the back. "It should therefore end at shoulder height. The new models are now truly high-tech products. They have several straps that guarantee the perfect adjustment," recommends Ortmaier.

Heavy objects on the inside, lighter ones on the outside
The width of the shoulder straps should also be taken into account when buying, so that the weight is not concentrated on a very small area. "In addition, heavy items should be placed on the inside and lighter items on the outside of the school bag so that the entire contents are well distributed," the expert gives another important tip.