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P20 Backpack Free Friday May 3rd, 2013

How heavy is your child’s back pack?  The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons advises that back packs should weigh less than 10% of a person’s body weight.  Packs heavier than that force a person to stoop forward to compensate for the additional weight, potentially causing back, neck, and shoulder problems.  Ideally back packs should be worn using both shoulder straps and adjusted to fit the body.  Care should be taken when lifting and lowering packs as well.

Not only do our kids lug around books, folders, binders, but they also carry their lunches and water.  Sometimes that water makes it round trip because our kids are still learning the Life Skill of personal care and drinking adequate water.  We need 6-8 glasses of water a day or half our body weight in ounces.  For example, a child that weighs 80 pounds needs 40 ounces of water a day.  A person that weighs 120 pounds requires 60 ounces of water to be properly hydrated which supports healthy brain and body function.

If you get dehydrated, not only does it mean dry skin and thirst, it could lead to overeating because thirst is often mistaken for hunger.  My husband came home after seeing the nurse complaining of headaches and dizziness.  It was due to low blood pressure from low blood volume because of dehydration.  The solution:  drink water!

Our kids need to support to learn the essential Life Skill of personal care.  They are under pressure to learn and socialize, and they would benefit from being in top form.  Parents need to remember to attend to their own personal care, too.

If your child does take her back pack to school on May 3, do your best to keep it light and pay attention to what our kids carry throughout the day.

P20 Backpack Free Friday May 3rd, 2013

Lifting the Burden off Children and Schools

WHO? Children, Schools and Families around the planet.

WHAT? Leave backpacks at home this day.

WHEN? Friday, May 3rd, 2013

WHERE? Everywhere!

WHY? To literally lift the burden off children and schools.

Students do not learn or socialize well with others when they are tired, dehydrated and hungry – add to this a pack of heavy books on their backs. Backpack Free Friday draws awareness to the importance of children’s foundational care in their daily lives. This is the day caring, conscious adults around the planet stand in unity to affirm the importance of children’s mandatory curriculum.

Back Pack Free Friday and Parenting 2.0

The Backpack Free Friday Campaign is coordinated by Parenting 2.0, an international consciousness movement that aims to effect positive change in every avenue of human interaction by advocating a more proactive educational process for foundational life skills. Parenting 2.0 on LinkedIn is the top ranked parenting group gathering nearly 3000 human development professionals and Life Skills Educators in over sixty countries.

In 2012, Parenting 2.0 made history by gathering Life Skills educators across multiple disciplines and continents for the first professional conference to recognize Life Skills as distinct, foundational skill sets teachable by third party experts, P20 Talks. In August of 2013, Parenting 2.0 Ambassadors are hosting regional gatherings around the planet to share P20 consciousness and promote the value of proactive education for traditionally non-academic Life Skills.

Replace Occupy with Exemplify and you have the formula for Parenting 2.0.