Back Care Information

At Playzeez we design our bags to be fun and playful, but for us this is not enough, we went one step further and designed features into our backpacks to help keep your children safe from harm. Here is some advice on keeping your child safe from unnecessary back pain from the use of their backpacks.

Choosing the right backpack:

There are numerous backpacks on the market but which one is right for your child?  When it comes to preventing back pain there are many features to look for:

1. A Waist or Sternum Strap
2. Two wide, padded, adjustable shoulder straps
3. A padded back panel
4. A lightweight construction

At Playzeez we try to provide you with as many back care features as possible, without compromising on our fun designs.

Our Features:

We have taken great care to design a backpack that can help keep your child safe, this includes trying to prevent any unnecessary harm coming to your child. Here are a few features that we have designed into our backpacks to help reduce the chances of your child developing back pains.

How you can help:

We have added these features to help alleviate some of the causes of back pain but proper use of our backpacks is also required. You can help, by informing your child on how to use their backpack correctly and ensuring they do so. Here are a few tips: 

Reduce excessive weight:

It has been recommended by Doctors and Chiropractors that kids should not carry more than 10%-15% of their own body weight, inside their backpacks***.  Children with over weight bags tend to compensate by leaning forward at the hips or arching their back.  This can compress the spine unnaturally, leading to shoulder, neck and back pain. Simply start by reducing the weight your child carries in their pack.

Two shoulder straps:

Make sure your child uses both shoulder straps. Hanging the backpacks over one shoulder can strain muscles.  With the weight on one shoulder your child will compensate by leaning to one side which may affect the curvature of the spine.

Sternum strap:

As a feature of our bag we have added the sternum strap, but this feature is pointless unless it is used. Make sure your child tightens the strap to help with the bags weight distribution.

Tighten the straps:

Your child's backpack should fit to the body. The straps should hold the backpack roughly two inches above the waist.

Pick up the bag correctly:

Bend at the knees when picking up the backpack and use both arms to do so. You should never bend over at the waist when wearing or lifting a heavy backpack.

Organise your backpack:

Pack heavier items, like books, to the back of the bag (close to the child's back) so that the weight isn't pulling back on your child's shoulders. 

We hope this information has been helpful.