Pediatricians are beginning to see new overuse spine injuries and back pain in children and teens. The cause? Heavy backpacks. Here are some tips on making better backpack choices for your children:

First, your child’s backpack shouldn’t weigh more than 10 percent of your child’s body weight. You can check the weight of the fully loaded pack on the bathroom scale. If the pack is too heavy consider a wheeled backpack.

Second, children should always wear both straps on their shoulders to avoid back pain. To distribute the weight correctly packs with straps across the chest are preferable and padded back panels help to cushion the load.

For more information check out this article in the Washington Post on back pain and backpacks.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-07-24/lifestyle/40861191_1_backpack-straps-child