Academic

WEIGHING SCHOOL BACKPACKS: ?On average, 6th graders in the study were carrying backpacks weighting ?

By Glenn Reynolds

WEIGHING SCHOOL BACKPACKS: “On average, 6th graders in the study were carrying backpacks weighting 18.4 pounds, although some backpacks weighed as much as 30 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that a child?s backpack weigh no more than 10 to 20 percent of a child?s weight. Consumer Reports recommends keeping the weight closer to 10 percent of a child?s weight. But one Texas study found that most parents don?t check the weight of their child?s backpack.”

Well, I did. “It’s likely that she’s carrying one-third her bodyweight there.” But the schools don’t seem to care.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on July 23, 2009 (boomark / email).