United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi Henry,

John also had asked about using a backpack - since the frame & waist strap would (he said) put most of the weight onto his hips instead of his back. Have you had success doing something like that?

How awkward is it to bother with the waist strap - & how cumbersome, overall, is it to use in a school environment?

Thanks for your help!

Ellen

Ellen...these look pretty good...http://www.wallaceh90.freeserve.co.uk/SchoolBags.htm
The back panel is curved to fit the spine and the straps look pretty wide too which is important...maybe you have something like this in the US? or maybe you could order from the site..and this is the kind of thing I used for art school recently..http://www.ebags.com/jansport/century_b ... elid=14970 I carry this around the front of me with the strap over my 'good' shoulder and across my chest (sort of!) If I ever feel a bit of strain on the shoulder, it's easy to to take the weight off the shoulder by holding the bag up a bit by the handle...bit hard to explain..! Hope this helps...mind you, I still think the back-pack trolley things are well cool...John could start a trend!

Liz

Ellen i don't blame John for refusing the whole wheelie bag thing they kept trying to push me to do that and i hated the suggestion. The reason i hated it so much is because its just another thing that separates you from the rest of the people. For me i just got a normal backpack and put it over the one shoulder. I wouldn't suggest more than 15 min walk with heavy books in them but it still works well for around school.

Hopes this helps,
Andrew

Hi all,

I like the Jansport model from lizzyb's link. That's what I was trying to describe above. I think it looks more adult than typical backpack and I don't blame John a bit for not wanting something that rolls along. Those are for air travel I think. Totally un-cool for school.

Here are a couple I also found - first is by Janson - and check bottom of screen for more choices:
http://www.bagsforme.com/bags/JS-T039

This looks a bit better to me, though - from REI:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Product ... REI_SEARCH

Ellen

PS...and if anyone does want to pursue the wheeled bookbags (that look like bookbags as opposed to carry-on luggage):

Looks like it would be comparatively easy to get in & out of zippered sections. Available in black. Bottom front section is a removable insulated lunch bag - might want to lose that part. 18 x 13 x 8.5 (w/ lunch bag)
http://www.ebags.com/high_sierra/omega_ ... 1+20010546


Doesn't look as easy to get in/out of. 19.5 x 13.5 x 6
http://www.rockymountaintrail.com/detail.aspx?ID=9528


http://store.gearlabs.com/baconwheel.html shows a lot of bookbags - some look better than others

Fun,

Ellen

Would you mind posting these links over on the general message board and referring to this thread; I think this would benefit parents of school age children on that message board, too.

Thanks.

Peggy

Ellen
I wouldn't be seen dead pushing one of those trolley things, too much like those ones old ladies push around for my liking. If I feel this way at age 45, I can understand your son's reluctance....:0)
It was an ortho who told me that no child should ever use a backpack, he said they were causing kids to have serious problems as early as their 20's and 30's as schools expect them to carry so much. It is also very bad for a child to carry more than 25% of their body weight, check your kids bags and find out. There are ergonomic backpacks but these are only any good if they are worn correctly and adjusted correctly for the size of person using, and the weight they are carrying. Some claim to be ok if used off one shoulder, so maybe they are. I find holding a bag on the non bpi shoulder hampers use of my only hand, and I have never been able to hold a bag off my bpi side, as it causes extreme pain to shoot down my bpi arm. So I haven't used a bag for years, too much trouble, but then I'm not studying. It's a pity we aren't trained as kids to carry stuff on our heads, it's supposed to be the best way.
It's early spring here, daffodils, lambs and gardening time. Any ideas about using a wheelbarrow? I'm reluctant to source and buy a 4 wheeled trolley, but it just isn't possible to use a wheelbarrow one armed.....

Jenny
I found once the kids got big enough I would put them to work with the wheelbarrow.... boy does that make them disappear fast... LOL...

we have carts here similar to wheelbarrows but it has two wheels in front and it can be used one handed.

Glad you have nice weather... ours here in NY has been a wet mess.
Kath

Jenny...Neil altered a normal one wheeled wheel barrow for me so I could use it one-handed...I think the threat of getting him to help me weed the garden spurred him on to do it! What he did was weld a bar across the two handles changing it into a kind of pram handle, then he attached ordinary kids bike trainer wheels to the front wheel, mainly because my garden(s) had windy narrow paths and corners that were hard to negotiate with a fully loaded barrow. I got used to it real quick tho, and didn't need the stabilisers after a while. Sadly, I don't have it anymore otherwise I would send you a pic.

Lizzy