(lifepr) (Selsingen, 18.02.2013) At the moment, kindergartens, child-care centres and retailers are once again holding lots of satchel parties to inform future school beginners about the wide range of satchels on offer. There is a huge choice of satchels, but what are the most important features? The Campaign for Healthier Backs AGR gives tips for a back-friendly school start.

Even if it's the design of the new satchel that matters most to children, parents should also heed health-related aspects. After all, primary school children are still growing and their spinal columns are particularly vulnerable to unusual loads. The following facts reveal just how important the issue of "healthy children's backs" is: today already 48% of all 11- to 14-year olds have posture disorders. 44% of all 4th graders complain occasionally and 8% constantly about backache. This is why the AGR makes parents and teachers more aware of back health issues for their youngsters in everyday school situations. Together with active information activities, the AGR also awards the "certified and recommended" seal of approval to particu-larly back-friendly school equipment.

Key features of a good satchel:

As the child's daily companion, the satchel should offer sufficient storage capacity, while at the same time being only light in weight (max. 1.3 kg when empty). For a perfect fit, satchels should also have an ergonomically shaped non-slip back section that adapts to the natural form of the spinal column. As far as the compartments are concerned, robust compartments to take heavy items should be placed near the back. Well-padded straps (at least 4 cm wide) that are always adjusted in parallel also make it more comfortable to carry the satchel every day.

Tip:

The Sammies series of satchels by Samsonite (www.sammies-schulranzen.de) combines er-gonomic requirements with colourful popular designs. This is the ideal solution for healthy children's backs. A list of german AGR-trained and certified retailers can be found on the internet at www.agr-ev.com