I keep hearing from our practice members how they feel time keeps flying by. I blinked and suddenly, the kids are starting school. Yesterday was the first day of school for most school-aged children. It was also the first day of insane traffic again, am I right? (insert sitcom laugh here). With the beginning of a new school year, comes lots of stress, and with lots of stress comes more dysregulation.
When I was in chiropractic school, I worked as a childminder for many families. One common thing I noticed among the children was how exhausted they seemed when the school year was sneaking in. Getting back into routine, going to school, making social connections, carrying heavy backpacks, playing, participating in sports. Many people treat children as mini adults, and forget that they are doing so muchevery day. They are growing, learning about themselves, learning about the world, and absorbing everything in their surroundings, including the things we don’t think they are old enough to understand.
We have shared many times what the effects of stress can be for our nervous system if we are not adaptable enough. One very important thing to pay special attention to as the school year starts, is the spinal health of all kids. The main physical stressor I’ve observed in Ireland is how excessively heavy most backpacks are for your child’s developing body. Research states that a child should not carry more than 10% of their bodyweight at any given time. Most kids I see have backpacks with way more weight than that. I know it’s inevitable to carry the books required by school, and there are safe alternatives to ensure there are no risks to their development. Now, did you know there’s a correct way to carry the backpack to prevent poor postural patterns and neurological imbalances? Here’s where we come in to help take that off your mental checklist.
Come get their backpacks checked!
We will be hosting backpack checks for children in the community, starting with yours. You or they don’t have to be practice members to take advantage of this opportunity, and you can bring as many kids as you have/want including friends and other family. We see kids walking around daily with many posture issues that get blamed on technology and bad habits when in truth the nervous system drives all function. Sometimes carrying too heavy a load and with improper adjustment of the backpacks accelerates the physical stress to the spine, creating new patterns of misalignment that can start the cascade of spinal issues and unbalanced nervous systems as growth and development continues. It all starts with simple yet impactful changes to ensure one less stressor as new books get added and the excitement of the first day of school fades away.
You can book your child(ren) below for our free backpack checks slots. We have made the slots right after school to make sure you can make it after pick-up. You will also get a short guide to ensure the backpacks stay put the whole year. If the times we have won’t work for your schedule, ask us! For now, soak in the first week of school experience with your child(ren). I look forward to seeing you soon.
In health,
Dr. Dafne