Beauty

Requirements for a backpack for schoolchildren

Despite the wishes of the younger generation of the appropriate color, the fashion of the pattern or some other preferences, you should definitely not be guided by them when choosing. On the contrary, first select the shape, dimensions, weight, check for additional pockets and compartments, and only then everything else. Therefore, if it is not possible to go to a large supermarket, where there are hundreds of models presented, choose a backpack online. So you will definitely not be limited by what is available, choosing a model according to the residual principle.

And you will have to go through more than one option until you find the optimal one. But we immediately want to dissuade from choosing and acquiring “for growth”. Rarely, even a high-quality school backpack lasts more than two or three years, especially for boys: even if it retains its shape and functionality, it will lose its visual appeal. And parents time the acquisition of a new one for the next academic year, especially since the tastes and desires of the first and fourth graders differ dramatically.

However, all school models must have:

— Rigid, orthopedic back, which will repeat the curves of the back: this will allow you to achieve maximum fit.

— Wide straps. The fact that they are required to be regulated in length is not news to anyone (although the “noname” manufacturers forget about this as well). But the requirement that they should be soft, with polyurethane foam inserts, is not observed by everyone.

— Reflective inserts. Safety, safety and once again safety: even if you walk to school for only a couple of minutes, it cannot be superfluous, regardless of whether the child will study on the first or second shift.

— Additional pockets and compartments. No comments: there are never many of them. Plus, it will be easier to keep order inside.

— The backpack itself should weigh as little as possible. But at the same time, in no case do not purchase models made of thin fabric without an orthopedic back at all. The effect of such a “lightening” will be directly opposite to the expected one, plus after six months of operation it will look frankly bad.

And the last requirement that all orthopedists, without exception, mention in their recommendations is the presence of a chest strap. At the same time, our practical experience confirms: 99.9% of schoolchildren whose backpacks are equipped with it have never fastened it, except perhaps when purchasing it, in order to reassure their parents that this is how they will wear a backpack. Therefore, it is definitely not worth choosing a model, guided only by its presence or absence.

Rules for placing contents in a backpack

The age-old dispute of orthopedists, how much, as a percentage of the mass of the child himself, should be the weight of the backpack, finally received a clear answer:

— for ordinary it is no more than 10%;

— for an orthopedic backpack / hard pack, the figure increases to 15%.

Although many put an equal sign between them, it is still wrong. The second one has a correct back, and the weight when carrying the load is redistributed to the entire back, while the usual “carry with your shoulders”: not only is this fundamentally wrong, it can also lead to unpleasant consequences, such as a hernia or scoliosis.

As practice shows, it is a utopia to comply even with the upper limit of the weight of a backpack for a first-grader. The fact is, in addition to the mandatory textbooks, notebooks, pencil case, boys and girls often put in it:

— tablet or console;

— power bank and bluetooth speaker;

— a toy;

— a bottle of water;

— lunch box with second breakfast

and many other subjects that have a very distant relation to study. Therefore, there is only one recommendation for parents of schoolchildren who went not only “for the first time to the first grade”, but also for those who are older — look inside more often.

But so that each time sorting the content into “necessary — not necessary” does not turn into a scandal, teach your son or daughter to stack the content correctly.

The rule is simple: put the heaviest things closer to the back; for school, these are thick textbooks and folders. Then thinner textbooks, a diary, notebooks — they should be stacked in parallel. Whereas on top you have everything else: a pencil case, pencils, paints and more. Although after returning home everything will be turned upside down (boys generally have a habit of stuffing everything into a backpack with their “left foot”), water and stone wear away.

How to properly adjust backpacks

This largely depends on the design itself: the more adjustment straps and straps, the better you can redistribute the weight carried over the entire back. However, this has a lot of disadvantages:

— The weight. Even if all the straps-laces are made as technologically as possible and from the most advanced materials, they cannot weigh anything.

— Reconfiguration takes time. They changed the jacket or slipped a sweater under it — the tension of the straps will again have to be adjusted.

— Finally, it’s just inconvenient to use if you take it off and put it on several dozen times a day.

Therefore, a complete set of adjustment straps is used quite rarely: only for large, roomy hiking backpacks, behind which “the tourist himself is not visible”.

But in any case, the sequence of what needs to be corrected-tightened is the same:

— fill the contents of the backpack, loosen the straps and put it on your shoulders;

— fasten and tighten (not tight) the waist belt;

— tighten the shoulder straps;

— pull the upper straps located on them to the shoulders;

— now tighten the lower waist straps: this will prevent the backpack from swinging in a horizontal plane;

— and lastly, fasten and tighten the chest strap: just do not overdo it, your hand should pass freely under it.

That’s all and ready. Now the weight will be distributed as much as possible, and the child will not get tired, even if he wears a heavy backpack for a long time. And you can take it off and put it on correctly in a matter of seconds, you just need to correlate this scheme with the existing model and follow the algorithm, tightening and adjusting the straps available on the model.

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