Heavy Bag Making Childrens Beast Of Burden Essay Example

class II student, who has to learn basic maths and languages minus homework, carries a bag weighing close to 5. 5 kg. "It's very heavy,'' says Abhishek, a class II student at Father Agnel School, as he struggles to take the bag off his shoulder for us to weigh it. It was 5. 5 kg. Long-term medical problems Ignoring this problem can cause serious complications. Doctors, in fact, say that backache is becoming a common problem among children. "We did a few camps in various schools and found that 15-20% of students complain of regular backaches.

Low-lying bags are a solution as the weight is transferred to the pelvis, forcing the kid to walk straight,'' said Dr Vivek Sharma, orthopaedic consultant, Artemis Healthcare Institute. The pain in the long run both in the lower spinal region and at the back of the neck, in the area between the shoulder blades can become chronic. Doctors warn that heavy bags can also result in bad posture. "When the bag weighs close to 8-10 kg, children lean forward in order to balance the weight. As a result, they develop a stoop,'' said Dr PK Dave, head of the department, orthopaedics, Rockland Hospital.

Specialists say that even a primary school child should not be carrying more than 2-2. 5 kg and a middle school child 3-3. 5 kg. And anyway the weight should not exceed 4. 5 kg even for high school children. Helpless parents Parents say they are helpless and at the most they can ferry the children back and forth. This, at times, with both parents working, is difficult. "I feel really bad for them.

They have to carry all the books as they are not sure which book would be required the next day,'' said Parul, whose son studies in VIth class at Modern School, Barakhamba Road.

Some parents have deployed bags with wheels which, however, don't last for long. One subject, many books One reason why the school bag has not shed weight is the practice by private schools to prescribe private publishers rather than NCERT textbooks. "They don't follow NCERT books for subjects like English. My daughter has six-seven books for English. And any given day, she carries at least three of them as she is not sure about the book,'' said Savita (name changed), whose daughter is in Class VII at Modern School.

Principals say they prefer books by private publishers "as they are more comprehensive. The quality of book, presentation, pictures etc are better than NCERT. But we do use NCERT books,'' said Rima C Ailawadi, principal, Salwan Public School (afternoon). Agrees Madhulika Sen, principal of Tagore International, and adds: "Some of the books are bigger and thicker. But our aim is to give children better education. '' Top of Form Heavy back packs are one of the most distressing and unpleasant aspects of school life for many children. The heavy weights of books make school going drudgery and irksome. This goes contrary to the current trend, which insists that the learning process should be fun.

Children who do not have to carry heavy loads, such as the resident borders, are more relaxed and at ease than those who have to carry heavy backpacks to school. Similarly one of the appealing aspects

of college life for kids is that they do not have to shoulder the burden of heavy books. Heavy bags cause stress on the spine, back and shoulders, resulting in muscular pain, fatigue and strain. The excessive weight in bags may cause a child to develop poor posture or slouch excessively.

Top of Form Many people will still remember the speech that R. K. Narayan, the famous novelist, had made in the parliament. He said that his heart bled whenever he saw young boys and girls going to school laden with books which they could hardly carry. This burden did not improve their minds; it only made them hunch backs. Look for the following warning symptoms that a school bag is too heavy

• Tingling and numbness in arm
• Pain while wearing the backpack
• Struggling when putting on or taking off the backpack
• Change in posture when wearing the backpack
• Problems caused by heavy school bags.

1. Lifting heavy burden for a long time or distance is not good for children. Half of the school children develop pain in the back or shoulder.
2. Carrying a heavy bag on the back causes forward leaning and bad posture, which can lead to improper weight bearing on the spine, and pains and aches in the shoulder and back.
3. Carrying a backpack weighing > 15% of body weight makes a child or adolescent unable to maintain proper standing posture. Children could get into bad habits like poor posture and slouching.
4. Forward bending at the back (also called kyphotic posture) makes the work
   

of breathing harder. Children carrying heavy bags have been found to have poor lung function.

These bags cause side ways deviation of the spine (scoliosis) because of the asymetric weight distribution and this can cause long lasting backaches and damage. Slinging the bag over one shoulder causes spine damage. Some solutions for this back breaking burden

• Loose sheets for homework.
• Individual lockers for students in school.
• Class work notebooks kept in school.
• Consecutive periods for one subject.
• To follow NCERT homework guidelines.

Campaigns have also been taken up, but precious little has been done to reduce the schoolchild’s daily burden. In fact, today’s children don’t walk straight and tall — they lurch to school, bent forward under weighty bags. Like Arjun, barely 3. ft tall and weighing less than 25 kg. This Class 3 student of a reputed ICSE school rushes to the gates, but the load on his back prevents him from walking fast, and he stops to catch his breath. When The Times of India took his bag and weighed it, it was a shocking 6 kilos! Despite carrying books as per the timetable. Doctors say that a child of his build should carry only 2. 5 kg. Arjun is not alone. Every morning, thousands of children in Bangalore schools carry more than 5 kg on their tender backs. This phenomenon cuts across all syllabi — state and central schools. And it hurts. Children complain of aching backs and shoulders.

Like Amogha

S, a Class 9 student of a state school in Basavanagudi, who carries an average of 8 kilos. “I stay 1 km from school and walk down. My shoulders hurt a lot, but I have no other option. I take books according to the timetable. ” Some schools have taken measures to either provide lockers to students, or allow them to carry only texts or only notebooks.

DOCTALK DOCTORS SAY the weight of the bag should be 10% of the person’s body weight — a child who weighs 25 kg, the average weight for a Class 3 student, should not carry a bag weighing more than 2. 5 kg. “These norms were recommended by the Indian Academy of Paediatrics.

It is also accepted worldwide,” said Dr Deepak Sharan, consultant in orthopaedics and rehabilitation. GET IT OFF MY BACK Schoolchildren Weighed Down By Heavy Bags Complain Of Back And Shoulder Pain Today’s educational system is gifting children something they can do without: backache, spine problems and a bad posture. Like it or not, every parent knows that his/her child looks like a beast of burden every morning, carrying a bag stuffed with books. And also that the bag chafes those young shoulders, but they can do little about it. Though much has been written about these weighty issues, children still carry bags weighing up to 10 kilos.

Like Nazia (name changed), a Class 4 student of an ICSE school in Indiranagar. On an average, her bag contains 6-7 notebooks of 200 pages each,in addition to textbooks. There’s some respite only on days when she has art classes, or extra curricular activities. Doesn’t carrying

so many books hurt her back? “She has complained several times that her shoulders hurt, so I give her a massage. She commutes by van and finds it difficult even waiting for those few minutes. Just imagine children who have to carry such bags from the bus stop to school,” said her mother, who did not wish to be named. Bharath G of Class 8 was carrying 7 kilos. I have long notes, short notes and textbooks. I have seven sessions and for each session, there are different textbooks and notebooks. So I end up carrying nearly 14 books every day,’’ he said. On an average, this is the number of books most students carry. But parents say that kids also carry “extra” books that are not in the timetable. “My daughter fears that the teacher might ask for a book not mentioned in the timetable. Such incidents might have happened once or twice. But my daughter carries all her books. However, I remove some books without her knowledge,’’ another parent said. Doc, my back is aching

Doctors are now used to it. If a child comes in with a complaint of back pain, the first question they shoot is — “How heavy is your bag? ” Students carry bags that weigh double and sometimes triple of what they are supposed to. Paediatricians and orthopaedists in the city say they regularly get cases of students complaining of backache, neck pain or shoulder pain, thanks to the load they carry every day. “At least 40% of students who carry heavy bags on shoulders suffer discomfort or pain at some point of time. 10% of them

need medical treatment,” said Dr Thomas Chandy, director and chief of orthopaedics, Hosmat.

Echoing similar views, Deepak Sharan, consultant in orthopaedics and rehabilitation, said at least 15-20 severe cases (where students have to take leave from school to undergo treatment) come to him every year. For milder pain, doctors usually recommend analgesics and anti-inflammatory medicines. However, doctors are optimistic that if schools takes some measures, the cases will reduce considerably. “Five to six schools in the city have taken good measures and cases have come down there,” said Deepak. However, since the system has more or less remained unchanged, the problem endures.

To eradicate this problem parents should set an example before their children by serving their parents ; grand parents. Once the children get this precious quality in their genes we wouldn't have such inhumanity in our society. The parents who are facing this situation right now should join people like them to avoid depression. They can also help people like them. They can show that they don't need such kids in their lives. Thank You, Regards| Bottom of Form Old Age Homes ?Why it can be a Lucrative Business Opportunity Synopsis Genesis In the Vedic times, human life of a hundred years was divided into four segments or ashrams.

A seven year old was supposed to live in Brahmacharya - ashram / gurukul or a present day distant equivalent of a boarding school till his twenties. The second quarter of his life was to be spent as a householder or a Grhasthya. In the third quarter, he was to retire from routine household activities and set out into the forests,

which was called Vanaprastha - ashram. This was the stage where contemporaries lived together, in probably what could be called a rough equivalent of a "retirement retreat". The last quarter of his life was to be spent in his search for God and to be lived in "Sannyas" in complete renunciation.

We don't live a hundred years today, but the rationale of retiring from hectic, routine life and moving into an area where one could finally, lead a healthy, peaceful life, and leisurely enjoy all that one has worked and earned for in his youth, is not a modern-day idea, but one borrowed from our roots in the Vedas. An Aggressive Stance Half a century ago, old age homes were looked at with antagonism and resentment. They were perceived to be a refuge for those helpless elderly victims who were "cast away" by brutally, ungrateful children. Current Understanding This idea is however changing rapidly.

Today, a fair number of people opt to move into a retirement retreat, where parents of affluent children well settled abroad, live in a home which provides vigilant security, prompt state-of-art medical facilities, clubhouses for entertainment, and most of all an environment where people understand each other, connect and relate with their contemporaries and are well taken care of. Future Trends Demographic study shows that in the next 20 years, the number of senior citizens will grow vastly, with the average human life expectancy increasing, to further.