Our friends at Healthy Children and the American Academy of Pediatricians have some tips on back-to-school backpack safety that can help prevent aches and pains and have your child stand tall.

Choose the Right Backpack

Look for the following:

• Wide, padded shoulder straps — Narrow straps can dig into shoulders. This can cause pain and restrict circulation.
• Two shoulder straps — Backpacks with one shoulder strap that runs across the body cannot distribute weight evenly.
• Padded back — A padded back protects against sharp edges on objects inside the pack and increases comfort.
• Waist strap — A waist strap can distribute the weight of a heavy load more evenly.
• Lightweight backpack — The backpack itself should not add much weight to the load.
• Rolling backpack — This type of backpack may be a good choice for students who must tote a heavy load. Remember that rolling backpacks still must be carried up stairs. They may be difficult to roll in snow.
• Always use both shoulder straps. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles. Wearing a backpack on one shoulder may increase curvature of the spine.
• Tighten the straps so that the pack is close to the body. The straps should hold the pack two inches above the waist.
• Pack light. The backpack should never weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of the student’s total body weight.
• Organize the backpack to use all of its compartments. Pack heavier items closest to the center of the back.
• Stop often at school lockers, if possible. Do not carry all of the books needed for the day.
• Bend using both knees, when you bend down. Do not bend over at the waist when wearing or lifting a heavy backpack.
• Encourage your child or teenager to tell you about pain or discomfort that may be caused by a heavy backpack. Do not ignore any back pain in a child or teenager. Ask your pediatrician for advice.
• Talk to the school about lightening the load. Be sure the school allows students to stop at their lockers throughout the day. Team up with other parents to encourage changes.
• Consider buying (or downloading to a tablet), an “at-home” set of textbooks for your student to keep at home.

Parents also can help in the following ways:

• Encourage your child or teenager to tell you about pain or discomfort that may be caused by a heavy backpack. Do not ignore any back pain in a child or teenager. Ask your pediatrician for advice.
• Talk to the school about lightening the load. Be sure the school allows students to stop at their lockers throughout the day. Team up with other parents to encourage changes.
• Consider buying a second set of textbooks for your student to keep at home.

Sanjay Nambiar grew up in Carson, CA, where he overcame a gang- and drug-riddled environment with the help of a closely-knit family and a focus on education. He graduated with honors from U.C. Berkeley, with degrees in Economics and Neurobiology, and earned an M.B.A. from UCLA. He now is a freelance copywriter in Los Angeles, CA. Sanjay practices meditation on a daily basis and sees extraordinary potential for happiness (and frustration) in the confluence of Western lifestyles and Eastern philosophies. Through his books, Sanjay hopes to inspire readers to consider life in a different perspective, one that incorporates a little bit of Zen as well as a lot of fun. He won a Mom’s Choice Awards Silver Medal and a Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Awards Gold Medal for his debut book, “Maybe (A Little Zen for Little Ones)”. Sanjay kindly sat down an answered questions for us about his writing inspiration, his twin daughters, and the importance of positive role models.

1. What motivated you to write these books?
I have two eight-year-old daughters (identical twins) who inspire many things in my life. For my A Little Zen for Little Ones series, I wanted to make ancient Zen stories—which have amazing concepts and provide wonderful guides to living well—more accessible to modern children. For the Super Duper Princess Heroes, I wanted girls to have better, more empowered, more independent role models. Girls can wear cute gowns and jewelry, but how about they save the world once they put their outfits on?!

2. What are your girls’ favorites and why?
They’re my biggest critics! But seriously, they love the girl in “Maybe,” but I think their favorite would be the Super Duper Princess Heroes. It’s a rare combination of princess cuteness, super powers, and girl power.

3. What were two of your favorite books growing up?
I loved books about sports, especially biographies about my heroes, like Julius Erving. Through the benefit of having a smart older brother who guided me, I got into literature at an early age. I remember reading Of Mice and Men in sixth grade while waiting for the bus. If I had to pick just two titles that I loved from my youth, they would be The Great Gatsby and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance(which I really didn’t get as a teenager, but I loved because I hoped one day I would get it . . .).

4. How has your passion influenced your own children when it comes to reading?
We’re lucky—our girls are voracious readers. But, they also like to write, and their imaginations are endless. I would like to take credit for that, but in reality they’re much more talented and interesting than I am!

5. What is the illustration process like? Do you have a general vision in your head and then you collaborate with an illustrator or do you write the words and then send them off to an illustrator who then decides what to draw?
My illustration process was unconventional. I had a specific vision in mind, but my drawing skills don’t extend much beyond stick figures . . . So, I worked as a creative director with a team of illustrators in India, and after much collaboration and many iterations, we produce our final product. For my upcoming book in the Super Duper Princess Heroes series (coming out in Spring 2016), the illustrator is a fine artist based in Los Angeles who is incredibly talented and acclaimed. I’m very excited for that project, for which all proceeds will go to the World Children’s Initiative, an amazing non-profit organization that built a heart surgery center in Uganda (the first of its kind on the African continent).

6. What do you hope parents and children take away from reading your stories?
For my A Little Zen for Little Ones series, I hope parents and children will use the stories as springboards for discussion. Those tales touch upon so many meaningful concepts—being present, mindfulness, letting things go, not being attached. If the books can spark a conversation about those ideas, that would be phenomenal. For the Super Duper Princess Heroes, I hope parents and children can realize that cute girls and powerful girls and not mutually exclusive. I want our girls to have role models who don’t need to eschew beauty or glamor to be empowered and independent. Our girls should know that they can indeed wear the fancy gown, but once they put it on, they can go save the prince instead of waiting to marry him!

As the weather warms up (or starts to cool off, depending on where in the world you are), now’s the time to get outside with your kids, breathe in the fresh air, run around until it gets dark, or spend a lazy evening on your porch. Here are some of our favorite outdoor activities and some from Jo's Twitter followers! …

The internet and Smartphones are the primary way children today socialize. Though there are benefits to this form of communication, planning IRL (in real life) play dates or trips to the movie theater, getting missed homework assignments or collaborating on group projects. However, there is a dark side to children maintaining an online profile. Cyberbullying is the most common of the “dark side” of social media. Kids can be both bullied in the cyber world and turn around and be bullies to other kids – sometimes, the victim can also be the aggressor … (Click through to read more)

Whether it’s their first time or their third, preparing for sleepaway camp is an exciting and sometimes stressful adventure for kids and parents alike. We asked a mom and a dad who are sending their kids to sleepaway camp this summer for the first (or the fifth!) time for tips on how they prepare and what to expect … (Click through to read more)

Be measured by what you do: A strong conviction (basically walk the talk). For example, let your kids see you thanking mum for a great home cooked meal. For kids, watching parents show kindness and gratitude to one another really does illustrate to them how true, loving relationships function.

Etiquette: Please let me express that you can never ever over-do verbally expressing gratitude, so as we learn from repetition. Be sure to prompt our kids in thanking for that gift, or thanking their friends for coming to play and having fun, or even thanking them for going with them to the cinema — and expressing how their company was great fun!

Thoughtfulness: Thinking of others will always be received well. It shows we have the capacity to be less self-absorbed, which certainly is a wonderful trait! Don’t be shy on sending thank you cards, a little email note, a video, Skype, or even a text. Be descriptive about your appreciation, as there’s nothing worse then entitlement. It’s always the thought that counts…..

Mindfulness: It never hurts to remind ourselves and our children how truly lucky we are. And how, even in our worst times, we can create a rainbow. Mentioning “Wow, how truly lucky are we today because we are doing this or going here or…” are you get the drift? 🙂

Awareness: Talking, reading, sharing news of other children, families, cultures, and how others live make our children think, ask questions and become curious. There’s much truth in being fortunate in the way we live compared to others; let us think more about that. Everybody remembers the times when we are reminded of others less fortunate.

Random Acts: Of kindness, willingness to do errands, and being a part of the family should always be acknowledged with hugs and that “just because” extra kiss. It builds positive co-operation and more acts of the same; it shows charity for others, whether that’s parting with some toys yearly, dropping off outgrown clothes to other families, or even being part of a bigger event.

Nature: An appreciation for our environment starts at a young age on those early morning walks, strolls in the park, experiencing the trees, birds, flowers, and nature around us — there’s a lot for us to be thankful for! Spend time explaining that if it wasn’t for the bees, there’d be no flowers, etc etc. Trust me, I still wake up and truly smell the roses in my garden.

Around the world we see so many families and people come together for one common purpose: to celebrate in giving thanks. Around Christmas time now imagine if that spirit truly was active everyday. Be kind; be nice. It costs us nothing to be this way. It allows us to become more conscious as parents in raising and guiding our children.

Remember, if your child has allergies make sure they wear their wristbands with allergy information. Provide sweet/candy bags to be given to the child in advance, or, you can do what this dad did. If you are staying home and giving candy out, be mindful of what you are giving. When parents come to the door with their children, ask if any have allergies to the candy you have before giving it out. If children come to the door without parents, look for medical wristbands.

Alternatively, instead of candy you can also find toy party items like bouncy balls and fun bendy straws at the local dollar store that can be passed out instead of candy.

Have a happy (and safe) Halloween!

Recently, the New York Times Magazine published a piece that “looked back” on a 2003 article about women opting-out of the workforce to stay home and take care of their children (The Opt-Out Revolution). Revisiting those moms in her piece titled “The Opt-Out Generation Wants Back In,” reporter Judith Warner discovered that many of the women, for reasons varying from the economic recession to lack of mental stimulation once children go off to school. Warner learned many of the women, after a 10+ year absence, want back into the workforce. She also found that the workforce was more willing to work with them (with the rise of freelancers, job sharers, and part-time employment on the rise as more companies downsize their full-time staff). Despite this more appealing schedule, many of the women profiled felt they were struggling to find their place in the professional world as they were no longer interested in the jobs they had or were too out of the loop in the way their old industry now operates. The article acted strictly as a profile and didn’t offer solutions of any sort.

However, over at The Guardian, columnist Jill Filipovic offered an interesting point to add to this conversation: Where are the men in this discussion? The answer to that question, as she goes on to explore, is that the opt-out model as it currently stands is not only bad for women, it’s bad for men, too. They spend their days working in a job they might not enjoy, but one that allows them to financially provide for their family. They end up overworking and missing half of the time they could be spending at how during the developmental years of both their children and their family as unit. Filipovic goes on to state that this also leads to an imbalance of power in the couple’s relationship, to tension, to fighting, and, in extreme cases, to divorce, which, she concludes, could leave a stay-at-home mom in a forced and high-pressure situation to suddenly get a job that would now need to support herself and her family as a single mother.

The two reporters’ observations were interesting to note and got us thinking about an even bigger issue: in most homes around the world, is opting out even an option? In times of economic depression, global poverty, and half of the parents in the world being of the single parent variety, this segment of the population being profiled is so small, perhaps its time to think on a scale that will make more of an impact: what are things workplaces and governments can do to make raising the next generation of citizens easier? Is it more paid maternity/paternity leave? More sick days or vacation time? Flexible work or job-sharing? Telecommuting/working from home? More pre and post-school programs for kids? It seems like all of these smaller questions can add up to large changes around the globe. Whether you’re an employee or an employer, what are some things you would like to see change in your workplace or community? Instead opting-in or out, opt for empowerment and start speaking up about what you’d like to see. Opt for change and don’t rest until you get it.

Perfect for summer, when the daily routine tends to go out the window, Jo’s app, Jo Frost Rewards, will keep things in check. Jo created the app as “a simple way to reinforce positive behavior by rewarding children for completing their chores/tasks and for exhibiting respectable behavior through tracking individual tasks for one or more child (each task is assigned a point value) and tracking individual behaviors for one or more child (each behavior is assigned a point value).” Points earned through tasks and behaviors can be later redeemed for rewards parents and caretakers identify in the app. The app comes with several built in tasks, behaviors, and rewards to help get your started however, all lists are fully customizable to your needs.

Click here for full description, screen shots and link to download for iPhone or iPad. Help keep your summer consistant and rewarding for both you and your kids.