motd Thurs Sept 8, 2011

[Guest guest]

PACK IT UP!

Thursday, 08 September 2011

So you've sent your kids off to school for

the new school year. And I'll bet most of your kids

have backpacks strapped across their shoulders,

right? Oh, backpacks have gotten so popular these

days.

I read an interesting article in the Wall

Street Journal that

mentioned a backpack sold by L.L.Bean. They said it

had enough storage space for the contents of a small

dormitory refrigerator! You think I'm kidding?

This thing has all kinds of little compartments for

your kids to store their stuff.

Just what kind of "stuff" is in those

backpacks the kids of America are carrying to

school these days?

And just what kind of "stuff" is in those backpacks

the kids of America are carrying to school these

days? Well, let's open one up and see. Well, there are books

in here. (No big surprise there, right?) Hmmm, and

here's a laptop, a cell phone, an MP3 player and oh,

look. This kid has an entire change of clothes in

his backpack. And wait, there's a whole package of

Oreo cookies, (with double stuff), in here, too!

I've heard that a lot of schools are moving away

from having lockers for their students. That means

the backpacks today's students are carrying have

become like little "portable" lockers. My goodness,

no wonder those backpacks are so heavy! And I see

even elementary school kids lugging those big-old

heavy backpacks on their way to school.

A child's loaded backpack should not exceed

10% of their body weight.

Did you know? A child's loaded backpack should not

exceed 10% of their body weight. That means if your

child weighs 100 pounds, his or her backpack should

weigh no more than 10 pounds. An overloaded

backpack isn't good for your child's posture and may

lead to back problems as they get older. Remember,

they're young and still growing so you don't want

them putting that extra stress everyday on those

still-growing spines of theirs, okay?

Did you know this, too? There were an estimated 28,000 backpack

related injuries reported in the last school year.

A lot of kids are walking with those heavy backpacks

and, of course, kids will be kids. And that means

they'll end up running with those

oh-so heavy backpacks strapped onto their backs.

That can lead to falls and injuries.

Get your kids to lighten up on what they're

carrying in their L.L.Beans.

So please, get your kids to lighten up on what

they're carrying in their L.L.Beans. And oh

yeah, check to make sure they don't have a package

of Oreos stashed away in one of their backpack's

secret compartments!

Love,