Debate on Heavy School Bags | Heavy School Bags are Harmful for Kids

Debate on Heavy School Bags: Heavy School Bags could be well avoided by taking preventive measures.

Very good morning to Honourable judges, Respected chief guest, Principal and all the esteemed audience present here. I welcome you all to have a debate on Heavy School Bags. It’s my pleasure to speak against the motion in Debate on School Bags.

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Have You Seen Little Kids With Bent Backs Because Of Heavy Bags?

At Least in India, parents have to helplessly watch their kids carrying heavy school bags on their shoulders.

This is a common sight of young children climbing up the stairs, weighed down by a heavy backpack, in schools. Heavy School Bags have an adverse effect on children’s spinal posture, foot shape and walking pattern has been noted. Students from different age groups have different levels of physical strength, and young children can’t carry the same load as older ones.

Kids are left with no option of carrying heavy bags to school. The weight of heavy school bags has become a matter of concern for students, parents and even school authorities. Heavy school bags are badly affecting the health of the kids. From affecting the posture to causing damage to the spine, heavy bags are causing many health problems.

Control measures should be taken by the government to fix the weight of school bags in order to avoid health problems in students.

In this debate on heavy school bags, we will discuss that a school is a place of learning and fun but the heavy school bags just create discomfort among the school-going children. This added stress and pressure simply makes students distracted from their education. They throw tantrums while going to school. Just the thought of being heavyweight makes them lose all interest in studying and going to school.

According to the guideline, a school bag weight should not be more than 10% of their body weight but in my research, for debate on heavy school bags, I found that children carry bags about 18% heavy of their body weight that’s almost twice the recommended amount.

But according to a survey, a load of a school bag is about 6 to 12 Kgs at the Primary level and 12 to 17 Kgs at the High School level. This heavy load is caused by textbooks, guides, homework notebooks, rough work notebooks etc., that are carried by the children to the classroom every day. The ever-increasing number of subjects in the school curriculum also results in heavy bags.

A need for clear guidelines of what to bring to the schools is required.

Apart from books, the lunchbox and water bottle also make the school bag heavier. If schools can put up water purifiers, then there is no need for the children to carry water bottles. Schools should ensure good quality mid-day meals so that children don’t have to carry lunch boxes, which will, in turn, lessen the weightage of the bag.

Children have to carry different notebooks for different subjects as well as a home notebook with homework given on a regular basis. School authorities can avoid different homework notebooks by keeping classwork and homework notebooks the same.

In addition to this, school bags have become a show-off among the students, a matter of status symbol. It has in turn became a costly affair for parents.

Debate on heavy school bags also points out that children carry badly fitted school bags, and struggle when lifting them on stairs, or during the walk to school. Carrying a heavy and badly fitted bag will cause increased muscle tension, and may lead to back pain and also bad postural habits. A school bag should be systematically arranged and unwanted materials should be removed to reduce the weight and to increase the accessibility of the things.

Through the Debate on heavy school bags, I want to highlight that heavy school bags can be avoided by taking some control measures.

Parents play a major role in reducing the weight of the school bag. They need to ensure that their kids pack their school bags according to the timetable. Unnecessary things should be avoided. Also, the size and shape of the bag should be taken care of while buying a new one. Bags with new features like shoulder support and trolley system are also available in the market. Parents should also ensure that schools shouldn’t demand to bring the entire syllabus on a daily basis. School authorities should make the timetable accordingly so that children don’t have to carry all subject material daily.

With my points of objection in my Debate on Heavy School Bags, I want to convey a request to the Ministry of HRD to issue some guidelines very soon, which will ensure that children will not have to carry more than 10% of their body weight on their backs.

Debate on Heavy School Bags 1

FAQ’s on Debate on Heavy School Bags

Question 1.
What are the side effects of heavy school bags?

Answer: 
Children have to pick up and put down their heavy school bags many times each day. It will result in a risk of a repetitive strain injury developing. This could affect the neck muscles contributing to headache, shoulder pain, lower back pain and neck and arm pain. Also, carrying backpacks over one shoulder will make muscles strain. The spine leans to the opposite side, stressing the middle back, ribs, and lower back and also causes muscle strain, muscle spasm, and back pain.

Question 2.
How to avoid heavy school bags?

Answer:
The government had laid some rules to avoid heavy bags. But the rules are only on paper. Children still have to carry heavy bags. Some of the tips to avoid heavy school bags are:

  • Choose the right bag with more compartments and better shoulder support.
  • Carry only the necessary materials.
  • Organise your bag in a proper way.
  • Carry the books according to the timetable only.
  • Carry a handy bag for lunch box, water bottle or any sports item.
  • Place the heavier book closer to your back.
  • Heavy stationery items can be avoided.

Question 3.
How can Parents help the children in reducing the bag weight?

Answer:
Parents play a major role in reducing the weight of the school bag. They need to ensure that their kids pack their school bags according to the timetable. Unnecessary things should be avoided. Also, the size and shape of the bag should be taken care of while buying a new one. Bags with new features like shoulder support and trolley system are also available in the market. Parents should also ensure that schools shouldn’t demand to bring the entire syllabus on a daily basis. School authorities should make the timetable accordingly so that children don’t have to carry all subject material daily.

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