Help your child choose a backpack

Back-to-school season often means back-to-school shopping, and one of the purchases you need to make may be a backpack. Before you buy, take a minute to read this article about children's backpacks so that you can make the best decision based on your child's situation. For instance, did you know that despite the fact that sling backpacks are popular, they can cause shoulder pain? Other tips include:

• Look for padded shoulder straps -- the thicker, the better.
• Wheeled backpacks are not always better. Consider whether your child will have to haul the backpack up stairs or through snow before buying.
• Conservative estimates say a backpack shouldn't be packed with more than 10% of a child's body weight.
  
• Teach your child to wear their backpack correctly. For tips on how to do that, click here.

Finally, Rigel recently wrote about these ergonomically designed backpacks that are built to spread weight a little more evenly across the shoulders.