Who should carry the school bag?
By whyaskq
@whyaskq (7523)
Singapore
May 16, 2007 3:30am CST
A bus is approaching the bus-stop. An elderly woman was "running" down the walkway to the bus-stop. A little school girl is sitting at the bus stop with her school bag on the floor.
"Come, girl. We can take this bus". With one hand, the elderly woman try to hold the little girl's hand. With the other hand, she grabbed the little girl's school bag from, the floor, which was rather bulky, while the little girl flagged the bus with her free hand.
The bus stopped. The little girl run to the door while the woman limped towards the bus. The little girl went up the bus before the woman reached the bus. I presume the woman is the grandmother of the little girl and is tasked to bring her to school.
My question is : Why should the grandmother carry the school bag for the girl?
Shouldn't the little girl carry her own bag?
My parents did not carry my school bag for me. I carried it myself.
I understand parents and grandparents loved and wanted the best for their children, but are we not spoiling them by sparing them of any "hardship" and depriving them the chance to develop and build up their endurance and tolerance?
Kindly enlighten me. Will you as parents or grandparents or guardians carry the school bag for your child when you bring the child to school? As children, do you gladly let your elders carry your bag for you?
5 people like this
15 responses
@Darkwing (21583)
•
17 May 07
No, I wouldn't carry my children's, grandchildren's or any child's school bag, whom I might be taking care of. I would expect them to carry it on their back.
However, I feel that this lady just grabbed the child's bag in order not to miss the bus. It certainly sounds like it, and the child wouldn't ask for it back, would they? They would concentrate on stopping the bus and getting into it. Hence, I think this was probably a one-off, hurried situation where reactions took over. It would have been an idea to have the little girl carry a bag on her back and not take it off when she gets to the bus stop, or sits on a seat.
I think most children have to carry their bags themselves. If they don't, they're in danger of forgetting they don't have it, and will miss lunch as well as get into trouble for not having their homework! :-)
@poppoppop111 (5731)
• Canada
16 May 07
i think it depends on how much stuff is in the bag, the weight of it and the age and size of the child. my daughter is 3 and goes to school rediness once a week. she is very small and light for her age. she's only 30 pounds and book bags are made so big, even for the little kids. it's bigger than her back. so she will carry it for a little bit but i notice she is dragging it and has a hard time walking cuase it's too heavy for her so i will help her out.
1 person likes this
@poppoppop111 (5731)
• Canada
17 May 07
she gets asked to bring stuff from home for school and then there is her lunch and juice which is heavy for a three year old. she also needs to bring a change of clothes in her bag. she can't leave it at school cause she only goes once a week for 7 weeks.
1 person likes this
@charms88 (7538)
• Philippines
16 May 07
Based on the description you provided, the girl is still small and thus understandable that she can't carry her own bag yet. By carrying the bulky bag ourself, it doesn't mean that we are spoiling our kids. You should know that the children need to bring a lot of textbooks and notebooks to school.
My girls used trolley bags to school. It is rather heavy and their classrooms is either on the second or third floor. You can't expect a girl of 6 years old to carry the bag herself. What if she trip down from the stairs. The time will come they will learn how to do it themselves. For now, I still am strong enough to carry two trolley bags for them.
1 person likes this
@metrobelle (398)
• India
17 May 07
I do agree that children should be not spared doing few of their own things like carrying their school bags. I may sound pretentious but since very young age I always offer help to elderly relatives.
1 person likes this
@bluewings (3857)
•
16 May 07
I think it depends on the age of the little girl.If she is very small then perhaps she doesn't yet understand that her grandma is getting old and it's tough on her , but if she is a little grown up ,then she is expected to understand that.Even if she doesn't ,I'd say it's the guardian's duty to teach independence and responsibility to the kid.
Unless she is taught that she would need to cary her baggage ,she might not be willing to.I think the lesson should come more from the parents than the grandparents who love their grandchildren so much that often they are ready to spare them the burdens of life.
@whyaskq (7523)
• Singapore
16 May 07
The little girl is already in school, so I guess she is at least 7 years old. She was already sitting at the bus stop with her school bag, so I guess she has been carrying her bag. It could be habitual that the granny is carrying her bag. I have seen most parents do such.
I do agree with you that grandparents tend to dote on their grandchildren. I have seen it for myself :P
@bluewings (3857)
•
17 May 07
Aha ,yes if she is 7 then she should know better.I started my schooling when I was 4 and half and I didn't have that problem because the school van picked me up from my house or I was dropped by my dad.Perhaps the solution could be having a locker at school like in the european countries.
1 person likes this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
16 May 07
The first and most important thing is to lighten the school bag. Despite what the complaints of the students might be, we know, as those who have gone before, that not everything inside is needed. When the bag becomes lighter, the issue lightens too.
When the children are young, it is understandable how parents (or grandparents for that matter) would want to hold the literal burden for them. It is also not untrue that the weight might be too much for the kid to handle. You don't want yourself to grow up more hunchbacked than he "has to".
So if after the bag is lightened and the kid is able to handle the bag without risk of stunting his growth, then let him carry it. It will help instill a sense of responsibility in him too.
I can't remember what happened when I was a kiddie. Too long ago that the memory is but a faint mark. I would have thought that I was responsible enough to carry my own bag. I am sure too that my parents love me enough to want to carry it for me. So I can't be sure what happened then.
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
16 May 07
A big problem lies with the pathetic teachers.
1 person likes this
@whyaskq (7523)
• Singapore
16 May 07
Oh, the children are afraid of being punished too, so they tend to bring everything. It's like that. I remember doing the same when I was small. If I not sure whether I should bring a particular book or not, I will just bring it. My bag is big enough but I will just leave the book in school if it is needed the next day. I am smart, right?
@dana234 (2114)
• Spain
16 May 07
I think parents should carry there children´s school bags when they are heavy. But a grandmother is a different thing. You mentioned that the poor woman actually "limped" towards the bus, so I suppose that the old lady was having trouble walking especially with the extra weight of the bag. I would have taught my daughter to help the grandmother with carrying the bag. Children need to develop a sense of responsibility. Once they´ve acquired that, they usually become more independent, which makes them feel proud of themselves. My daughter doesn´t want me to carry her bag anymore. She takes pride in doing it by herself. And I´m sure she´s not the only one.
@recycledgoth (9894)
•
15 Apr 08
As soon as my son was old enough to start at school we made a big point of him being "grown up" enough to carry his own school bag. For him it was something special and his responsibility. On occasions when we had to run for th ebus then I would take his bag for him simply so we could catch the bus, but he always carried his own bag.
1 person likes this
@camar_lyn (1028)
• Singapore
16 May 07
I personally think that the girl should carry her own bag. It is her belonging and thus, her responsibility to guard her property.
I'm sure however, this didn't happen overnight. The girl was raised that way. That's why she didn't even offer her grandmother that she's to carry the bag.
I think children that doesn't suffer a little 'hardship' early in life, will not know how to deal with LIFE in the real world. Cheers! - Lyn
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
16 May 07
I don't think my son would let me carry his bag for him when he starts kindergarten in September. He is so independent and at the stage where he likes and wants to do things for himself (within reason) and I let him, making sure that he is able to manage without me. Of course he does ask me for help when he isn't able to do it, but I reckon he would be the one carrying his own bag even if I, or his Grandparents offered to carry it for him. Being in Kindergarten he won't have much in his bag besides a few school supplies and his lunch with snacks, and possibly a spare change.
When I was growing up I had to carry my own bag, I don't think there was a time where either parents or grandparents carried my bag regardless. Even if it was heavy I was the one responsible for it, for packing it and carrying it too.
@sonukuldeep (669)
• India
16 May 07
first of all i should tell u this was not easy for me to answer.
u are right may be the girl should have carried her own bag. but as u know our parents and our grand parents love us very much they just dont want us to recieve the hardships at such a tender age.
similar sitution also accoured with me when i was small. i always loved my grand mother, i would go with her for shoping. commonly to the local markets. one of the main reason i would go with her was that i loved to carry the bags for her. i never liked her to carry it. just because i loved her so much. but she never liked this habbit of mine as these bags would leave marks on my hands.
if i were the girl u said above i would definitely carry any bag because i would hate to see my grand father or mother to carry it in my presence.
@4cuteboys (4099)
• United States
17 May 07
The weight of the school bags lately has gotten ridiculous. I know my 7 year old's bag is absolutly too heavy. He has at least 4 hardcover books, plus a folder with homework and other stuff he's supposed to transport to and from school. So we bought him a bag with wheels, but even as a grown adult I will say his bag is extremely heavy, and my son is 7 and only 50 lbs himself, so it's not exactly reasonable to expect him to lug the bag around. If they lightened up the load of stuff they had to bring home it would be a different story.
1 person likes this
@therishav (93)
• Nepal
16 May 07
Sometimes it's not necessary that the child only should carry the school bag. We must consider certain factors like age of the child, the weight of the bag, physical capability and many other factors.
I feel pity when i see a small child carrying a bag full of loads on their shoulder. If the child is grown enough then he/she should carry their own bags.
I would carry my child bag till they are capable enough to get it them self.
1 person likes this
@asawanialvin0611 (1877)
• Philippines
15 Apr 08
I carry my own bag.My dad doesnt want me to look haggard with bulky bag so i bring little things but are important for the day
1 person likes this
@Woodpigeon (3710)
• Ireland
16 May 07
I couldn't carry any of the schoolbags except for my youngest's bag, bcause the rest are too heavy! I often carry the little one's bag, but it is mostly out of force of habit than that he needs me to. If I have shop bags or other things I need to carry he takes his own.
I always took myslelf to school so no one had to carry my bag for me.
1 person likes this
