Parents have raised concerns about the excessive weight of elementary-school students’ backpacks, saying children struggle to breathe under the strain.
The Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) found that a second-grader who weighed 30kg was carrying a 5.8kg school bag, far heavier than the Ministry of Education’s recommendation that bags not exceed one-eighth of a student’s body weight.
The backpack contained a pencil case, a water bottle, a lunch box, a communication notebook, a Mandarin textbook, a math workbook, a Mandarin homework book, a Mandarin vocabulary notebook, picture books and folders.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
Even after removing cram school materials, such as English textbooks, workbooks, homework books and notebooks, the bag still weighed about 4kg.
A nearly 6kg backpack is difficult for even an adult to carry, let alone a small, young student, a parent surnamed Liu (劉) said.
“They can’t even lift it with one hand,” he said, adding that carrying such weight places heavy strain on children and raises concerns about their growth and development.
Far Eastern Memorial Hospital Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department physician Strong Po-chun (莊博鈞) said excessive loads might contribute to poor posture and musculoskeletal discomfort.
While there has been no proof of a direct link between heavy bags and impaired growth, children are still developing, so carrying such weights could lead to compensatory posture that affect body alignment, he said.
Common problems include hunched backs, rounded shoulders, protruding abdomens, anterior pelvic tilt increased curvature of the thigh bones and lower back pain, which could worsen over time if left unaddressed, he added.
Children with weak core muscles, sedentary habits and insufficient exercise are more vulnerable to postural problems, he said.
Combined with prolonged use of electronic devices, children might also develop forward head posture, commonly known as “tech neck,” which could eventually contribute to bone spurs or spinal degeneration, Strong said.
Frequent pain or soreness during elementary-school years places invisible stress on the body and could potentially affect hormone regulation, including growth-related hormones, he added.
Backpacks should not be heavier than 15 percent of a child’s body weight, he said, adding that load tolerance varies per person.
To reduce strain, students are advised to distribute weight evenly, such as by carrying some items by hand and adjusting shoulder straps properly, he said.
Straps that are too loose could cause the backpack to sway while walking, increasing energy expenditure, while straps that are too tight could compress shoulder and neck muscles, leading to discomfort, Strong said.
Ideally, the backpack’s center should be near the lower edge of the ribcage, or about the middle of the torso, he said, adding that children should use backpacks that are comfortable and suit their body size.
Parents could help relieve soreness through massages, warm baths or heat therapy to relax children’s muscles, he said.
Prevention is equally important, Strong said, recommending exercises that strengthen core and back muscles, such as crawling or play-based movement, to improve load tolerance and reduce the likelihood of pain.
To safeguard students’ normal physical development and promote healthy growth, the ministry implemented a backpack weight reduction policy from 1999 to 2012, the New Taipei City Education Department said.
Although government subsidies ended after the 2012 academic year, New Taipei City has continued the initiative, it added.
Since 2016, reducing backpack weight has been incorporated into schools’ daily management, focused on the principle of “taking only necessary books home,” the department said, adding that it has allocated more than NT$15 million (US$476,872) to help schools replace lockers, which helps lessen the number of items students need to carry.
The department urged parents, teachers and students to address the issue from three aspects — choosing the right backpack, organizing their backpacks and properly carrying their bags — to truly lighten their load and improve children’s health.
The ministry began promoting backpack weight reduction more than a decade ago, encouraging students to bring home only essential textbooks and assignments, and store the rest in lockers, New Taipei Teacher’s Union Chairman Lin Sung-hung (林松宏) said.
The increase in online learning resources powered by artificial intelligence has also helped in efforts to reduce backpack weight, he said.
However, heavy bags are still common in schools, especially for shorter, young students, whose backpacks nearly match their body size, he added.
Many students carry reference books, handouts or homework from cram schools, while others fail to properly organize their backpacks, allowing unnecessary materials to accumulate and add weight, Lin said.
He suggested that parents purchase lightweight backpacks, check their contents regularly and help their children organize their bags to foster responsibility, good habits and parent-child interaction.
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