| Kids are forced to carry unnaturally heavy loads to | | | | Some schools, such as the Mariemont school district |
| and from school these days for a number of reasons. | | | | in Ohio now provide an extra set of text books for |
| Pediatricians are seeing this result in a number of | | | | each student to keep at home and the other books |
| health problems including strained backs and necks in | | | | are in the classroom. This eliminates the need to |
| growing children. This is particularly true for students | | | | carry those set of heavy books to and from school |
| that are in middle schools and high schools and is not | | | | for the students, helping reduce the weight in their |
| uncommon to see teenagers carrying a bag that is | | | | bags. |
| thirty pounds or more on their backs all day long in | | | | One solution to eliminate the heavy text books |
| school. This will discuss why this is happening and | | | | altogether would be to switch to online books and |
| what you can do to alleviate the problem like using a | | | | content which many teachers across the country are |
| folding cart or wheeled cart of back pack or working | | | | already doing. Not only does this reduce the need to |
| with the schools to change the lugging around of | | | | carry the heavy books around all day but it can also |
| heavy text books. | | | | save the school districts money in having to buy |
| One of the reasons students have to carry around all | | | | them for the students. Many school districts use |
| of their books and notebooks today is that newer | | | | them as a supplement to the books but haven't quite |
| school buildings are not providing lockers for their | | | | embraced the electronic teaching tools completely. |
| students. This is the case in the Douglas County | | | | If there is no other option to reduce the amount of |
| school district in Colorado where the schools are all | | | | books that your teenager has to carry all day long in |
| fairly new. They did not build lockers in these new | | | | school, then perhaps the way they transport their |
| buildings to eliminate or reduce places where students | | | | items should change. Many companies that make |
| could hide things like drugs or weapons on school | | | | book bags or back packs now are making ones that |
| property. This then, results in the students having to | | | | have wheels for students to pull instead of put on |
| carry their entire days worth of books as well as | | | | their backs. This is highly recommended by |
| their coats with them all day long. | | | | pediatricians if the bags weigh more than twenty |
| Some schools do provide lockers for their students | | | | pounds. These doctors are contributing the rise in |
| but the amount of time in between classes is often | | | | back problems as well as a higher occurrence of |
| too short to be able to go to your locker and get to | | | | scoliosis to these heavy bags that students have to |
| your class in time to make good use of the locker. | | | | carry all day long, five days a week. |