What is BackPack Safety America?

Parents, teachers, school administrators and health care specialists are concerned about the issue of children’s health and safety with their backpacks. Children are hunched forward like peasants as they lug their books to and from school and between classes. Students are carrying 20 to 40 pounds in many cases, so this concern is legitimate. Common sense tells us that a heavy load distributed improperly or unevenly, repeated day after day, is indeed going to cause stress to a growing spinal column. "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree."

There is a growing awareness of this problem globally as evidenced by media coverage from network television to syndicated newspaper columns such as Dear Abby.

The backpack is not the cause of the problem. Children simply haven’t been shown or taught proper methods of packing, lifting and carrying their backpacks. The problem stems from a lack of focused information delivered to students, parents, teachers and school administrators.

The solution can be found in a comprehensive educational program aimed at young people from kindergarten through 8th grade, supported and endorsed by parents, teachers, school administrators and health care providers.

Backpack Safety America™ (BSA) is designed as a simple yet direct, 8-step prevention program to train an entire generation in the safe, proper and biomechanically correct way to use backpacks. Backpack Safety America™ has set up a network of doctors who will donate the entire program to participating schools. The program goes as follows:

  1. BSA™ doctor meets with school superintendent, principal or health liaison to schedule presentations to teachers, students and PTA/PTSO.
  2. Presentations include:
    · Informative and entertaining 8-minute video, "You Can Do It...Just Do It Right!"
    · 2 large full-color posters and 5 smaller posters for prominent display in school hallways, reinforcing the steps for proper backpack use
    · Colorful student take-home brochures for parents
  3. BSA™ doctor presents 20-minute in-service for teachers and health liaison.
  4. BSA™ doctor presents 20-minute school assembly. Instructional take home brochure is given to each student.
  5. BSA™ doctor presents 20-minute PTA/PTSO talk for each school.
  6. Follow up survey to school administrator/health liaison helps to measure BSA™ effectiveness, content, follow through and future use.
  7. Teachers distribute and collect follow up survey for parents.
  8. Repeat the same steps next school year.

Find out how to bring Backpack Safety America™ to your school or school district!