Malaysians Sympathize With Thai Schoolgirl Who Struggles With Her Bag, Says It’s Happening Here Too
At one point, the student gave up and dragged the bag on the ground by the strap.
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Heavy school bags carried by children have been a hot topic of discussion for years but there are not many lasting solutions.
We know that the weight of the bag on the shoulders and back are bad for posture. And yet, we still see school children lugging these huge bags to school.
Recently, a viral video showed a child in Thailand struggling to lift a school bag. Standing at the side of the road, the child tried over and over to lift the heavy bag onto her shoulder.
The video received 25k shares and 10k likes on Facebook.
At one point, she dropped the bag in frustration and stretched her arms to the side before trying to carry her bag again.
When she nearly managed to place the straps on her shoulders, the weight of the bag pulled her back and she fell on the ground again.
She finally had to call it quits and dragged her bag with her hand while she walked down the street.
Luckily, a man across the street saw her predicament and helped her lift her bag while she put her arms through the shoulder straps of the bag.
Although that helped her to carry the heavy bag, she had to walk and bend forward in an angle in order to support the extra weight without falling backwards.
Netizens share their own experience
Although the girl was likely a student in Thailand based on her school uniform, the video went viral here as Malaysians related their own experiences with heavy school bags.
Netizens voiced their disappointments and felt deeply for the child after watching her struggle with the bag.
They also shared their own experience with school children and their heavy backpacks.
A housemaid shared how she secretly helped to carry the bags of two children to school on a bicycle while they walk beside her.
Some of them also shared a tip to help lighten the children’s burden.
In some schools, they allowed students to keep their textbooks in baskets or large storage boxes in school.
A few of them suggested schools reduce the number of exercise books needed. Often, most of the extra books are rarely used.
What’s the right bag weight for a school child?
A 2019 study done by researchers from the University of Granada and UK-based Liverpool John Moores University has finally revealed the maximum weight a child should carry using a school backpack and a backpack trolley.
The results state that a child should carry a backpack no more than 10% of their body weight.
If it’s a backpack trolley, the bag should not weigh greater than 20% of the child’s body weight.
READ MORE: School Bags Shouldn’t Weigh More Than 10% Of The Child’s Weight, Says Study
Hopefully, the issue of heavy backpacks will be a thing of the past soon.
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