Health professionals currently recommend that kids carry no more than 15% of their weight on their shoulders.   Even that is no joke—if you weigh around 150, imagine yourself carrying 45 lbs. on your shoulders all day, five days per week.  If you were carrying such a pack, it would likely be one with a waist belt to transfer some of the weight from your shoulders and upper back to your pelvis, hips and legs, but of course kids’ backpacks have no such feature—and kids would likely eschew them if they did!  Many kids are carrying 20 lbs. or more—one pack I weighed in my office weighed 35, while its owner weighed only 75.

The most elegant solution would be for kids, teachers and parents to work together to reduce the amount of stuff kids need to carry each day; however, that is sometimes impossible.  When you can’t reduce the weight of the backpack, it is worth considering Airpack backpacks.  These packs look completely normal but contain an inflatable lumbar cushion which helps transfer weight from the upper back and shoulders to the pelvis and hips.  If you’re interested, check out their website at http://airpacks.com