Why would school say no rolling backpacks?

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I was afraid this question would get lost in a thread...so sorry to ask in a post too...

and maybe it is just for the K grade and not really a school thing...but we have been told with no explanation on the paperwork to not have rolling backpacks...

Why???
can anyone think of a reason, I dread getting my children backpacks for I see these kids get off the bus staring at the ground these things are so heavy!!!


Neve
Reichen (6), Karsh (3), Tristan (2) and baby girl Bronwyn born March 10th!!!!

[Wife_and_mommy]

Hmmmm.... Maybe it's just for K-ers? I'd call and ask because I agree on the 2-ton weight of backpacks these days. I don't remember seeing kids in my neighborhood with the roller ones lately either, though. I wonder what the problem could be with them?

I do have to throw in that in my day there weren't roller backpacks and I had to carry my heavy books with no relief for miles and miles. ;)


Elizabeth

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Our second morsel due early February 2006!

[nfowife]

I used to teach elementary school, and we had a no-rolling backpack rule also. One reason is that most kids would just pull them behind them without being careful and so others would often trip on them duing the very busy/crowded morning and afternoon hallways. Plus they seemed to always flip over while the kids were pulling them along. I have taught both first grade and kindergarten and we only sent home a single folder each night, so the max a child would have in their backpack would be the folder with some papers in it, maybe a second folder one night a week with graded work/newsletters, and a library book- not too much to have on their backs at all. I wouldn't worry about it until it becomes an issue for your child.

[hez]

I was just thinking about the tripping/flipping thing as a potential reason. Glad you confirmed that my logic still (occasionally) works.

I have a roller backpack for work. I love it, but if there are any steps at the school, it kind of defeats the purpose, as I've learned with our new parking lot that is 77 stair steps away from the door to our new building. Thank goodness for a hubby who drops me off at the top :)

I have yet to trip anyone with my bag, but then again, I'm not normally wandering crowded hallways with my bag, and I'm pretty careful to keep it close in airport kind of situations when it does get crowded. Not something even a middle school or HS'er might think about, knowing how immature I was back then.

[lisams]

I was thinking the tripping thing too. Also I wonder if they get in the way when the kids have to line up and such. Most classrooms get crowded during packing up and lining up time, and I wonder if having lots of those rolling backpacks just got in the way.

Too much weight shouldn't be a problem until older, where the kids use (heavy) textbooks. But I know what you mean, I see kids who are carrying a heavy loaded backpack and it looks so uncomfortable and dangerous.

How exciting that you are getting ready for school!! Is Reichen excited? I would be a nervous wreck, do our babies really need to go to kindergarten?!! :-)

Lisa

[momathome]

Uh-oh. Guess I better check our Elementary school's policy. I just bought Liza a rolling back pack from LLBean (with her initials, of course, which means we cannot return it) because she was complaining last year that her backpack was too heavy. Really hope this is not an issue or I am out a lot of money. :(

[slknight]

Just wanted to let you know that you can still return it to LLBean even it it's monogrammed. They've got tons of monogrammed things that they sell at the outlets.

[June Mommy]

This rule was in effect (though not strictly enforced) at the school I taught at, too. It was simply a safety issue...fingers getting pinched in the hardware, tripping, reckless 'rolling', plus it would be difficult to maneuver for the bus riders. I taught kindergarten, and like the pp, all we ever sent home was a folder with the children's papers inside, so we didn't have to deal with the heavy backpack issue. The older kids did seem to have a lot of books, though.

[almostamom]

My school must be in the minority -- we encouraged students to get the rolling backpacks. Of course, we do not have any stairs on campus and none of our students are bus riders. As often as possible I tried to make sure that any homework that was assigned did not require the use of a heavy textbook so that students wouldn't have to be "weightlifters" on their way home. I was always amazed at how heavy some of my students' backpacks were even without the school books in them!

~Linda~
DS 11/04

[Globetrotter]

You won't need it in KG, for sure. I've noticed that the homework increases considerably in third grade, and I've seen plenty of kids loaded with heavy books. I think they allow the wheeled packs at that age, but I could be wrong.

Kris

[toomanystrollers]

No wheelies at our school too - same reasons as PPs mentioned - tripping, slows down the school bus stops.

[momathome]

Thanks for the tip - I knew LLBean had great customer service, I am just surprised it extends to monogrammed things. :) I just found out Liza's school does allow them so I guess we are safe.