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Pack that schoolbag, lighten that load!
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School children suffer from severe effects from carrying heavy backpacks to school, which leads to ill health. Studies have showed that Indian children are not the only ones burdened with heavy bags.
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Too young to be weighed down by books. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
WE OFTEN see little children totter to school with heavy backpacks and those who sit glued to their video and computer games at home for hours on end. The results of these excesses can be more serious than ever expected. Some children may develop a permanent stoop due to the heavy pressure on their spinal cord, which could lead to permanent damage to their physical structure and back muscles. As for joystick addicts, they may damage the fingers, resulting in bad handwriting and, worse still, nerve damage.
Yet life goes on as before for most families even after they hear their children complain about back, neck, and headaches. "`You are too young to get such aches and pains,' is the reply that we always get," was the common complaint by most children at the interactive workshop organised at the National Junior School, Kammanahalli.
Around 300 children, accompanied by their parents and teachers attended the workshop, which was organised by The Hindu as a part of its NIE (Newspaper in Education) Programme in association with the Bangalore Children's Hospital and Research Centre. The aim was to make all those present to "take the complaints of these children seriously, and that backpacks do lead to musculoskeletal pains, and children do suffer from computer related injuries".
Held on July 4, the workshop was conducted by Nandini Mundkur (pediatricians), Deepak Sharan (doctor), and Shruti R. Iyer (16-year-old researcher from Houston), it brought into focus the various problems faced by children all over the world. Every point was explained with a visual, which made the workshop all the more interesting.
Ms. Mundkur explained about how wrong posture could lead to permanent damage in one's muscle structure. "One should always make a conscious effort to always sit, walk, and stand straight. A bad posture could also lead to severe headaches, body aches, and fatigue, she said and stressed that children must exercise regularly to develop strong muscles and resistance."
What made the workshop more interesting was young Shruti's research. How did this youngster get involved in this study? "It started when I was in school. I developed severe back, head, and neck pains, and no one took my problem seriously. That is what triggered off my study, as I wanted to know if there were other children who had similar complaints such as me," explained the youngster whose "aim in life is to create public awareness about problems related to school and how the school administration can find a solution to these problems". She spoke as a professional and had the young children listen to her in rapt attention.
Shruti, who studied 240 children in Chennai last summer, says that faulty school furniture is one of the major causes of students suffering from backache. And she has also come up with solutions to these problems such as: "Children should not carry more than 10 per cent of their body weight. A hipster could probably help reduce the weight on the back, and heavy books should always be placed at the bottom of the bag, and carry only those things those are essential for that particular day. Text books can be sold in several binds so that they can be carried in files, and some of the text can be converted into CD RoMs."
Then there was a third session where Dr. Deepak explained to children about the various computer-related injuries (CRI). "One in every six children suffers from CRI in the U.S.. Studies show that people spend two years of their life sending e-mails and 23 years of their life on the Internet, and this could lead to severe visual strain and physical damage, he said. The solution is to take a break every 30 minutes, stretch, and walk a few minutes for an adult while working on a computer. For school children the "permissible time to work on a computer is a maximum of 30 minutes four to five times week," he said.
Finally, it was the children, parents, and teachers who came up with remarks and even pointed out why a particular solution would or would not work in India and why. "Indian schools have benches that offer no back support, We cannot afford CD RoMs as they are expensive and that will once again make the children work longer hours on the computers. Schools should offer two sets of books and textbooks as this will avoid the heavy backpacks," were some of their conclusions. But one thing they all seemed to agree was that the best to prevent these problems was to organise regular school health programmes, where doctors and teachers can help monitor the child's posture, nutrition, education, and weight.
SHILPA SEBASTIAN R.
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