Sunny with a bit of a breeze keeping midges at bay here today so I have been working on the strawberry bed. Peter is making me some raised beds which I think will make life easier with the weeding. I was reading a great blog today by my friend known as 'Indiebird' on the forums. Thought you might like to go and visit so here is a link I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Here in Scotland children are already back at school and England will be going back in a couple of weeks. I saw a very interesting blog today about the amount of stuff most kids carry around when they go to school from heavy books to packed lunch, P.E. kit and so on. I am suffering with my back at the moment and having physiotherapy and I remember a physio saying to me some time ago about the cummulative damage that kids do to their backs with all the things they are obliged to carry around. So this seemed like an opportune time to pass on some tips.
Experts say that a child should not carry a backpack that is more than 15 to 20% of their body weight, some experts go even further and suggest 10%. So what should you be looking for when purchasing a backpack? Certainly the latest trendy one may not be a good buy for back health even if it does have the right logo!
A good backpack should have:
Two straps which should be wide and padded.
A chest strap and a waist strap both of which will help take extra stress off the shoulders and spine.
A padded back.
Multiple compartments to help organize and distribute weight evenly.
Make sure the backpack fits your child.
The top of the backpack should rest just below the shoulders, and the
bottom of the backpack should rest around 4 inches below the belly
button near the hips.
Pack smartly.
Pack only what you need for the day and remember the 15 to 20 percent guideline.
Pack flat objects in the back of the backpack and heavy objects at the bottom.
Try to distribute the weight evenly.
Some very valid points I think. Happy Shopping!
Linda