Heavy school bags putting children’s posture at risk, warns TD

CHILDREN could be forced to endure a life-time of back pain and posture problems because of the excessive weight of school bags, a Labour TD says.

And he now plans to meet with health experts to discuss how to end the back-breaking pain for children.

The health and posture of children is being put at risk by the weight of school bags which they have to haul around each day, according to Brian O’Shea TD, Labour Party Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs spokesman.

The Waterford deputy has taken the matter up with Education Minister Mary Hanafin and the publishers of school textbooks, and has had the issue raised with the European Commission and with the Health and Safety Authority. But he has not succeeded in finding a solution.

Mr O’Shea now plans to raise the issue with the professional associations representing physiotherapists and chiropractors to see if they can progress the campaign.

“I believe the weight of school bags, which is often as much as two stone, is a serious concern and I am of the opinion that it could cause spinal damage and other injuries, which may not become obvious until later in life,” he said.

While this is a problem which mainly affects second level schools, the weight of books used by primary pupils is also of concern. He says it is now time for the Education Minister to take this matter seriously and to take effective steps. He says the minister’s response to him on this issue has been evasive. “It appears to be motivated by a desire to ensure that she can avoid any meaningful action.

“The minister’s only response was to send one copy of a circular on the weight of schoolbags to each secondary school. Issuing one circular to each school can hardly be described as showing any real concern or commitment on the minister’s part.”

The Irish Educational Publishers’ Association told Mr O’Shea that the problem of the weight of books is a difficult one for publishers because of the clear preference of teachers for textbooks which cover a whole course and not just part of it.

Where a textbook is available in one large version or three smaller parts, the larger version is generally adopted for classroom use. Teachers find this more convenient for revision and it gives them more flexibility to organise their teaching according to the needs of different classes.

Mr O’Shea said there must be an alternative to carrying around so much weight, such as having two sets of books, one for home and one at school; dividing the larger books up into a number of smaller sections or making more use of computer technology.

“We surely have the technology and ingenuity to find a solution to what should not be a very difficult problem,” Mr O’Shea added.