Choosing the Right Backpack for Children: Fit and Weight Are Key

Selecting a backpack for a child requires careful consideration beyond just aesthetics, focusing on factors that ensure comfort and protect the child's back. Tautgirdas Budrys, marketing manager for Lithuania's largest bookstore chain, emphasizes that a backpack becomes an integral part of a child's daily routine, worn nearly 200 days a year.

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What should definitely not be done is to choose a backpack based on a picture online or a favorite color, without even trying it on the child.

Budrys advises against choosing a backpack based solely on online images or favorite colors without trying it on. When fitting a backpack, its position is key: the top should align with the child's shoulder line, and the bottom should not rest on the buttocks. The backpack must remain stable and high on the back, not sagging at the waist or swaying while the child walks. A firm, padded back and wide, soft, easily adjustable straps are recommended. For younger students, chest and waist straps can further stabilize the pack and distribute weight.

To assess comfort and suitability, Budrys suggests a simple test: place a few books inside the backpack and have the child walk with it for several minutes. An empty backpack can feel comfortable, but the added weight of books will reveal if the pack is poorly constructed or ill-suited for the child's age, causing shoulders to pull down or the pack to shift. Observing the child for slouching, raised shoulders, or uneven weight distribution during this test is important. Asking the child about strap pressure and ease of movement is also vital.

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An empty backpack on the back always looks comfortable and beautiful, but after putting a few kilograms of weight in it, a low-quality backpack or one not adapted to the child's age will pull the shoulders down and wobble while walking.

Regarding weight, Budrys states that an empty backpack for a primary school student should not exceed approximately 700 grams, and for an older student, around 1 to 1.2 kilograms. Crucially, the total weight of a fully packed backpack should not exceed 10% of a primary schooler's body weight (e.g., 2.5 kg for a 25 kg child) and can go up to 15% for teenagers. He also stresses the importance of packing heavier items, like textbooks, closest to the back and lighter items in front compartments to maintain a stable center of gravity.

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If all the items are thrown into one large compartment without order, even the most ergonomic backpack will not be comfortable, because its center of gravity will be in different places each time.