Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Muscat: Some schools in Oman want to install lockers to help pupils struggling with heavy school bags.
The announcement, by a Pakistan Schools System spokesman, was made after a physiotherapy specialist at the Ministry of Health warned that heavy school bags can harm your child’s spinal column and neck if heavier than 15 per cent of the child’s weight.
Physiotherapy Specialist Hamad al Shukaili, who works at the Royal Hospital, said that parents should be able to spot the signs quickly and should always remain alert.
“Based on studies in the West and the warnings from the American Physical Therapy Association, an empty bag should weigh between 1-1.3 kilograms. When it is full with all the child’s necessities, the bag should be between 10-15 per cent of the child’s own weight,” he added.
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“For example, if the child weighs 30 kg, then the bag should weigh a maximum of 5 kg,” he said.
He added: “The weight of the school bag can cause major health issues, especially if the bag is unreasonably heavy compared to the child’s own weight. The problems arise due to a heavy load, which causes undue stress on the child’s neck, spine, and shoulders from a young age.”
“There can also be negative effects on the child’s growth.
Everybody knows that early childhood is a very pertinent stage in the child’s growth, so when there is a heavy burden on the child’s body for an extended amount of time, this can press on the cartilage between the spine’s disks, which can slow down growth. This means that the child will grow later than others,” Al Shukaili said.
Chairman of Pakistan School System (PSS) in Oman, Muhammed Zia Ul Haq, said that the school is planning to open lockers to help students.
“To be honest, we were getting a lot of complaints from the parents regarding the weight of the school bags. Thankfully, we have done our best to cut down the weight and have instructed the students to strictly adhere to the timetable and only carry the books that are required.
em (PSS) in Oman, Muhammed Zia Ul Haq, said, “We will once again look into revising the timetable to cut the weight further but we also request parents to pay a bit more attention to what books their child is carrying to school.
Many-a-times, children do not follow the timetable and carry more books than required.
“In addition to this, we are also considering the possibility of opening lockers across the Pakistani schools in Oman to help. There is nothing more important to us than the health of our children.
“I would also like to request the parents to help their children use the school bags wisely.
With the latest addition of wheels and other gadgets, it makes the weight of the school bag heavier.
Therefore, please select the bag carefully.”
Saud Al Salmi, a teacher at a government school in the Sultanate, said: “I agree that the weight of a schoolbag should not be more than 15 per cent of the child’s weight. I hope that the authorities will issue a decision in this regard or find other alternatives.
“For example, allocating a locker for each student at school to keep some books is a good idea.”
Recently, India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) stated in a circular to all Indian Schools in Oman that pupils studying in Classes 1 and 2 should not carry schoolbags or be assigned home work.
The education board also urged schools to adopt measures to reduce the weight of school bags for secondary class students, and suggested that textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 should be lightweight.
It also advised that teachers should also be counselled by the principals to provide instructions for bringing textbooks beforehand and that they should not penalise students in any way, for not bringing textbooks or workbooks.
“The fear of such measures may compel many students to bring most of the books/workbooks, making their bags heavy,” the circular explained.
Globally, medical issues are being reported stemming from heavy school bags.
According to Al Shukaili, “Studies have shown that 30 per cent of the physical issues in the back and shoulders for children occur because they are carrying bags over one shoulder instead of carrying them properly, while 23 per cent of the injuries are caused by bags being too heavy to begin with.
“These issues arise over time and we won’t be able to notice them immediately, but when such mistakes are repeated over a long period of time, they can cause unsatisfactory results,” he added.
Some parents think they can avoid this issue by giving their children bags with wheels to drag along, but those can be just as dangerous.
“We see many people on social media arguing about these wheeled bags. They seem to present a partial relief for students, but in the long run have more drawbacks [than normal bags].As long as the bag is still heavy, the child is going to drag it along with one hand, which again causes a bend in his spinal column.
“Furthermore, schools have stairs, so the child is going to carry it up the stairs anyway, and these bags have a different structure than normal bags and they have iron or plastic bars which also hurt the child.”
Parents can easily identify symptoms that their child is being harmed by the bag, and when that happens, they should do all they can to help.
“Over time, parents may notice that their child has changed the way he walks because of his spine being affected. They can also notice it if one shoulder is higher than the other.
“Furthermore, the physical exertion from the child when he carries heavy burdens for a long amount of time can cause muscle cramps in the back, which is painful and noticeable, so the child would often complain to his parents.”
