Involving other parents and your child's school in solving students' backpack burdens might help to lessen kids' loads. Some ways the school can get involved include:

giving students more time between classes to use lockers

using paperback books

adding school education programs about safe backpack use

putting some curriculum on the school's website, when possible

You may need to adjust your kids' backpacks and/or reduce how much they carry if they:

struggle to get the backpack on or off

have back pain

lean forward to carry the backpack