Getting the backpack right before school starts

School starts across the Seacoast in late August and just after Labor Day, so the next couple of weeks are when this is worth sorting out.

A pack that is too heavy, or worn too low, pulls the shoulders forward and keeps them there for most of the day. Add hours hunched over a screen and a long day at a desk, and it adds up.

The checklist

• Keep the loaded pack under about 10 to 15 percent of your child's body weight.
• Use both straps. One shoulder is the most common mistake and the easiest to fix.
• Let it ride high on the back rather than sagging toward the hips.
• Tighten the straps so it sits snug instead of swinging.
• Heaviest things closest to the back.

Screens

Between homework and phones, kids spend a lot of the day looking down. Bringing the screen up to eye level helps, and so does getting up every half hour or so.

When it is worth coming in

Most of the time, a pack adjusted properly is the end of it. If your child is complaining of neck, shoulder or back pain that has gone on more than a week or two and is not settling on its own, that is worth having looked at.