Weight of School Bags

CoalBucket

I done a quick search and couldn't find a thread about this, I was suprised.

Anyway, My young fella, 9, came home from school today complaining with a pain in his back saying that his school bag was too heavy. I picked up the bag and it was fairly heavy alright so we went through the bag and I asked him to leave in all the books he needed every day.

After clearing out the non required books I weighed it and it was 18 lbs !!!!!

Surely there is something that can be done about this. 18 lbs is a huge weight for a 9 year old to be lugging around. Then there are other days in the week when he needs to bring his hurley and helmet and sometimes swim gear.

Any thoughts

D4RK ONION

Best advice I can think of is to get a school bag with wheels on it. Wouldn't be breaking his back anyway!

Insect Overlord

That said, the class teacher should really be managing things so that the child isn't carrying so much weight. Unless the child is carrying hard-back A4 note-books for every subject, the bag should not be that heavy.

thesimpsons

have you queried with the teacher that these books are needed nightly? I know alot of kids like to bring home every book every night (my daughters friend insists on this for some reason, mine just bring what they need to). You should check with the parents assocation, or join it yourself if you can, and put a query to the principal to see if something can be done about the weight of the books/copies. I'd also recommend getting a good strong school bag with double straps and insists he wears it that way on both shoulders. Wheely bags can be good but they aren't very cool and they also tend to be dragged into dog poo and other street debris and not very nice to have brought into the house. Heavy bags is the biggest deterant to kids walking or cycling to school in my house.

CoalBucket

I wrote a note to the teacher and she removed some of the books today. The bag now weighs 10lb rather than the 18lb yesterday. I still think that is heavy for a 9 year old to be carrying. With reference to the bag with wheels, he is at an age now where he doesn't want to be the only boy with one of them. The problem is some of the girls do

D4RK ONION

CoalBucket wrote: »

With reference to the bag with wheels, he is at an age now where he doesn't want to be the only boy with one of them. The problem is some of the girls do

Nothing like the "EW GIRLS" phase eh? :P

kt217

I think the normal weight allowed is 10% if the child's bodyweight. Most
kids of that age and up hate the wheelie bags, I know mine do!:)

DGOBS

Can never understand with the price of school books why Ipad isnt a solution for this! surely there is 'an app for that!'

pooch90

Because of cost, maintenance and mugging opportunities!

byhookorbycrook

Wheelie bags sometimes get rolled into unpleasant stuff and then the child puts them up on their desk to take out their lunch..and..you get the idea...:eek:

mksmhs

I have to say I think in this day and age the books should be downloaded onto a usb memory stick as I would have thought most children have access to a computer (maybe not an ipad) then if there were 'revised' additions, us parents would not get ripped off having to buy the same book we could just download any amendments. Unfortunately, we know this wont happen as booksellers/publishers seem to have a monopoly. As for the problem in hand, I asked our school if they could look at how homework is given out instead of 10 minutes of five subjects for homework each night could they not give more homework in one subject per night. Unfortunately I was told it was my son taking all his books home that was the problem. It wasn't, he only brought home what was required for the homework which was 5 lots of books and copies so I'm afraid the problem was not solved, they are still lugging their heavy bags, hopefully you might have more luck.

my sherona

Ah, the poor darling! What on earth did we do years ago?? How is it that the school year is nearly over and it's only now you've realised the weight of the bag?? What's he been doing up until now? What's he going to do in secondary? Get his mother to come in and carry his books home?

The majority of time it's the kids who insist on bringing home all their books even though they're not supposed to.

Usb sticks? Come off it, whatever about computers at home have you not realised that there is a serious lack of funding in Primary schools. Schools have to fundraise to repair leaks etc. never mind trying to equip themselves with decent computers.

Also if the child can't manage to sort his own books (at yes,shock,9years of age) how will he mind a usb stick!!!
Plus, he may just put extra pressure on his back leaning over a computer and also may suffer repetitive strain from typing.

I subject a night??? So, it would be okay to teach one subject a day??? The reason they are given a little of each every night is to consolidate the topics that they have covered in class during the day. Again, what will happen in secondary.

10% of a childs bodyweight???Where did you get that fantastic statistic?

The teacher is very accomodating taking time away from the other kids to sort your childs schoolbag.

byhookorbycrook

Errrrr....teachers are parents too. I once had a parent tear the head off of me because I "made the children bring home all their books every night."
Complete fabrication by the child. Talk to the teacher involved OP and see if something can be worked out.

DGOBS

You dont lean over an Ipad...so no RSI!

See mugging being an issue though alright!

As for funding, I feel your pain, but parents are spending alot on books over the school years so a payment scheme for something like an ipad over a few years wouldn't be so bad

Look to the states, ipad is fast becoming a tool of choice in the schools, as a country who wishes to build alot of it's future on IT related business, would this not be a huge step forward?

byhookorbycrook

There is a thread debating Ipads/laptops elsewhere on the boards, so there's no need to repeat the same stuff.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056283599

ShamoBuc

mksmhs wrote: »

I have to say I think in this day and age the books should be downloaded onto a usb memory stick as I would have thought most children have access to a computer (maybe not an ipad) then if there were 'revised' additions, us parents would not get ripped off having to buy the same book we could just download any amendments. Unfortunately, we know this wont happen as booksellers/publishers seem to have a monopoly. As for the problem in hand, I asked our school if they could look at how homework is given out instead of 10 minutes of five subjects for homework each night could they not give more homework in one subject per night. Unfortunately I was told it was my son taking all his books home that was the problem. It wasn't, he only brought home what was required for the homework which was 5 lots of books and copies so I'm afraid the problem was not solved, they are still lugging their heavy bags, hopefully you might have more luck.

And you would be wrong, in my class of 28 - 7 do not have access to a computer and you can be certain that is repeated in other schools around the country ( not to mention disadvantaged areas)
The cost of books is unavoidable. If you thought you would just download amendments to books for free, you would be seriously mistaken.
As a child gets older the books get bigger. Wait till secondary school and see how heavy the bags are then.

At the beginning of your post you had a heading Cop on Teachers......:rolleyes:

mksmhs

Sorry 'bout the heading, probably should have been cop on school book manufacturers. My son is actually at secondary school now and yes the bags are heavier, he and a few of his friends are starting to suffer with their backs, and yes he does sort out the books required and always has. 80% of the population will end up with back problems and a third of all workplace reported injuries are manual handling. When I referred to using USB I meant to use the screen as a reference book and still use copy books rather than typing, maybe not such a good idea if pupils do not have access, just trying to think of a solution. I seriously hope 'my sherona' that you are not a teacher because you do not appear to have the welfare of your pupils as a priority. You speak in a very derogatory manner of both pupils and their parents. This is a massive problem putting strain on children's backs and it would be nice to find a solution that would assist both the children and their teachers. My son was given 10 mins Maths a day, 10 mins Irish, 10 mins History, 10 mins Geography etc. I just wondered why on a Monday he couldn't be given Maths, Tuesday Irish, Weds History etc? Again only trying to think of a solution. In years to come I am sure most people in the workforce will suffer because of their backs and not because they didn't do their homework on the day they were taught it.

DGOBS

ShamoBuc, wow a 1 in 4 factor to no pc access at home, that amazes me,
would be willing to bet a weeks wages that 99% of those have a large flat
screen tv (most with sky sport, movies etc) and most I would think also with
the games platform and plenty of games!

A netbook would set parents back like as little as 180euro!

Anyway, will not bang on about it, been kick once already:eek:

thesimpsons

theres many kids in my children's classes who don't have access to computers either, or who don't really know how to use them other than surf the net and play games on them. My kids are constantly helping out their friends with their ipods, downloading photos from camera to pc, setting up PCs, etcs. when something goes wrong with the PC they haven't a notion what to do with it. My son when he was in primary had to help out his teacher many a time when on very simple computer items.


I'd prefer if the classroom learning was done through more lecturing type classes, projectors, IWB, taking notes and practical hands-on type lessons, and the books could be kept at home virtually full time. There is no real reason why the text books need to be lugged into school in secondary school really, it should be sufficient for just the copies to be brought in with homework.

ShamoBuc

DGOBS wrote: »

ShamoBuc, wow a 1 in 4 factor to no pc access at home, that amazes me,
would be willing to bet a weeks wages that 99% of those have a large flat
screen tv (most with sky sport, movies etc) and most I would think also with
the games platform and plenty of games!

A netbook would set parents back like as little as 180euro!

Anyway, will not bang on about it, been kick once already:eek:

I am surprised that amazes you.
I have not been in all their front rooms and checked out their Sky packages, so you can hold onto your money.
Also, alot of people have actually cancelled their Sky and gone with Free To Air ( I'm one of them!)
And the cost would not just be a Netbook - they would also have an extra monthly bill for Broadband, anyway, I won't bang on about it;)

Kathnora

We had complaints about the weight of bags in our school even though the children are only required to bring home the books they need for homework. On investigation it was discovered that the "weight" was coming from full half litre bottles of water and 2 or 3 very full pencil cases!! Things aren't always what they seem! :rolleyes:

DGOBS

And to continue in the same line of thought....
most pedestrians killed in RTAs were just loitering on the road all the time when investigations took place

Insect Overlord

DGOBS wrote: »

And to continue in the same line of thought....
most pedestrians killed in RTAs were just loitering on the road all the time when investigations took place

waster81

thesimpsons wrote: »

theres many kids in my children's classes who don't have access to computers either, or who don't really know how to use them other than surf the net and play games on them. My kids are constantly helping out their friends with their ipods, downloading photos from camera to pc, setting up PCs, etcs. when something goes wrong with the PC they haven't a notion what to do with it. My son when he was in primary had to help out his teacher many a time when on very simple computer items.


I'd prefer if the classroom learning was done through more lecturing type classes, projectors, IWB, taking notes and practical hands-on type lessons, and the books could be kept at home virtually full time. There is no real reason why the text books need to be lugged into school in secondary school really, it should be sufficient for just the copies to be brought in with homework.

What about students who cant take notes on their own.

Then you will have parents moaning that the teachers arent giving their "darlings" enough time to take notes etc.

DGOBS

a) taking notes is surely a good skill to develop
b) handouts are always an option

byhookorbycrook

Taking notes is not helpful to children with dyslexia or auditory processing difficulties or for children with dyspraxia. It isn't in-line with the primary curriculum either. Handouts must be photocopied,so photocopying charges will go up, plus there is a greater chance of losing a handout than a book.

DGOBS

Why would children with dyspraxia not benefit from "LEARNING' how to listen and take notes (my daughter being the one in question)

Also, in the post, the discussion wasn't limited to primary children with heavy school bags, it runs into secondary too with the same (or worse) issue

I always wonder about is alot (not all, so please don't pile in) of teachers seem to shrug at an issue of children with back pain caused by these bags, and seem to me to only want to react with negative input, rather than brainstorming to find a solution

BTW, my daughter brings handouts home for school on practically a daily basis, where she keeps them in a neat folder on her study area for future reference (she's 6!)

I also have her writing when listening to me (I use it as a pen holding exercise as suggest by her OT for dyspraxia)

E.T.

It's great that your daughter is able to do this. Unfortunately, this would be way beyond the children I've encountered with dyspraxia. They wouldn't be able to keep up at all with taking notes in the classroom at the same speed as their peers. It's not a question of them "learning" to do it, many are just not able, and often have other diagnoses which impact their ability further.

byhookorbycrook

A six year old would not have to write the same volume as an older child. The handwriting speed of many of children with dyspraxia is not at age-appropriate level,the last thing they need is to be doing all that extra writing.

thesimpsons

I was more talking in relation to secondary school with regard to the note taking type lectures in school. It just makes absolutely mad that the teacher sits at top of class and just reads out of the book for 3-4 of my teens' classes. They never deviate, they give different people parts to read and might comment the odd time and try to expand a point in the book, but generally nothing. The classes which my kids enjoy most and tend to get better results in are in the subjects where the teachers hardly ever open the text books in school, are animated and enjoyable to listen to, and the textbooks are then studied at home as an add-on to the classroom learning. Even at 5th or 6th in primary level the teaching should be more than reading from the books. Learning to handle handouts and sheets and organise them into folders is a learning skill in itself and is something even junior pupil in primary can handle.

mksmhs

Two schools in Mayo have introduced this. St Colmans Claremorris and Sancta Maria, Louisburgh. Sancta Maria purchased the ipads as a pilot scheme and St Colmans are introducing them also as a pilot scheme for first year students, and the students (parents) have a choice of whether to purchase them or remain using text books. The school has arranged a deal with the local credit union for low rate loans for any family requiring them. Sancta Maria in Louisburgh has had a very positive response.The ipads were available to all students.

D4RK ONION

I think even Kindles would be a good idea. They're much cheaper than ipads, and there's less chance of them being used for class wasting stuff like games. Personally if I was a student with an ipad in class, I'd have world of goo playing on there! >_>