School Backpack Awareness Day 9/16/2015

Backpack Facts: What’s All the Flap About?

National School Backpack Awareness Day is an annual event held on the third Wednesday of every September. Across the country, backpack events educate parents, students, educators and school administrators, and communities about the serious health effects that backpacks that are too heavy or worn improperly have on children. Backpack Day is also a time to promote the full range of occupational therapy benefits and services

• More than 79 million students in the United States carry school backpacks

• More than 2,000 backpack-related injuries were treated at hospital emergency rooms, doctor’s offices, and clinics in 2007

• It is recommended that a loaded backpack should never weight more than 10% of the student’s total body weight (for a student weighing 100 pounds, this means that the backpack should weight no more than 10 pounds)

• About 55% of students carry a backpack that is heavier than the recommended guideline of 10% of the student’s total body weight

• The way backpacks are worn affects your health. The height of the backpack should extend from approximately 2 inches below the shoulder blades to waist level or slightly above the waist. It is recommended that individuals always wear the backpack on both shoulders so the weight is evenly distributed.

The 1, 2, 3’s of Basic Backpack Wearing

click the image to downloadable pdf version

All information courtesy of American Occupation Therapy Association