How to persuade your child in three minutes to fasten the chest strap and hip belt at all times

Building routines

No doubt you will have had at least one morning where the alarm clock has gone off late and the bags are not packed ready for school. And where did those gym shoes go which they need for the PE lesson? On mornings like this there is no time left to remind the kids that the weight of their ergobag will be easier to carry if they fasten the chest strap and hip belt. Therefore it is important to make this part of the daily routine – like brushing teeth. Children of primary school age in particular enjoy the feeling of becoming increasingly independent and doing more and more things without help from mom or dad. One of these things is putting on the school backpack and fastening and adjusting the straps.

Instructions on fastening and adjusting the school backpack -----------------------------------------------------------            * The first rule is to start at the bottom and work your way up to the top. * As soon as the ergobag has been packed and lifted onto the back, the hip belt is fastened and tightened. * The kids then tighten the bottom straps and then the chest strap is fastened and adjusted. * Finally, the backpack is then pulled as close to the back as possible with the two shoulder straps.

This is the perfect position for the school backpack because a large proportion of the weight is shifted to the stronger pelvic area. You can find our fitting instructions here.

The ergobag bottle trick

Sometimes you have to work a bit harder to persuade older kids. Here is a trick you can use to convince even the biggest doubter to fasten the chest strap and hip belt every time: Collect a few bottles full of water – it doesn't matter if they are glass or PET. Line them up in front of your child and ask the child to put on the empty ergobag school backpack. Leave the chest strap and hip belt unfastened at first. Now start putting the bottles in the school backpack one by one and ask the child wearing the backpack to say as soon as the weight becomes noticeably uncomfortable. Then repeat this process with the chest strap and hip belt fastened and without your child seeing how many bottles are being put into the backpack. Again ask the child to say when the backpack starts to feel as heavy as it did the first time round. Your kids will be amazed how much more weight they can comfortably carry when the chest strap and hip belt are fastened. Have fun with the experiment!