Weight And Design of School Bags : A Major Concern for Parents and Schools

Author:K. Panta, H. Kaurb* and M. Sidhuc

Abstract:
Heavy school bags are common mode of transporting books and school supplies for school going children from kindergarten to the high school. Every year when schooling starts, children all over the world, ready to go to school are burdened with heavy bags. They pack various books, heavy stationery box, filled water bottle and meals to take during break. Some, who are scared to be scolded, takes all books to school including those which may not be needed that day. Some pack their own bags without any help from parents while others repack after their parents had packed for them for they are too afraid to miss packing any book or material. There is a growing concern these days that children are carrying too much weight on their backs. The school bag is one of the several forms of manual load carriage that provides flexibility and is often used by hikers and soldiers, as well as by school children. Therefore, this study was conducted to know that information regarding awareness for weight and design of school bags among parents and school students of Ludhiana city. It was found that most of the parents were unaware about MASW (maximum acceptable school bag weight) and only 6.67 per cent had information regarding standard MASW which is 10-15 per cent of body weight. Data further depicts that maximum number of respondents perceived their school bags heavy. Therefore, there is a great need to understand by both parents and school authority to make generous plans so that heavy school weights could not adversely affect the spinal column and other bone structures of growing children which are not fully developed.

Keywords:Key words: MASW, transporting, generous plans, spinal column, bone structures.

DOI:

International Journal of Trade & Commerce (Vol: 5 Issue:1)