Lifestyle

Capacity Rated as the Most Important Factor when Selecting Backpacks for Kids

Published

7 years ago

August 17, 2019

Every kid going to school needs a backpack, and the selection of which one has always been tough for parents. While most of the schools do not put restrictions on what types of backpacks kids use, many give a lot of books to students to take home. In such cases, when surveyed parents from different corners of the world, capacity was rated as the most important factor to consider for the backpacks.

Many countries like India are also setting the weight limits on the school backpacks to make the life of students at home easier. Such limits may help prevent damage to children’s backs from heavy books on their way from school to home. Many parents shared that picking an ideal backpack with sufficient capacity is really a tough decision. Too much of empty backpack is uncomfortable for children, while heavily stuffed backpack of greater capacity puts a lot of force on the backbone of children. To tackle this situation, there is an awesome backpack by Burnt My Taco that can reduce the some of the tensions for these parents. Both comfort, coupled with trend setting designs like these, are also these book bags are great choice for both younger children through college students.

What Can You Do?

What are some other things you can do to help reduce the weight of your child’s backpack? Consider getting a second set of textbooks to keep at home for your child. Weigh your child’s backpack, it should ideally be no more than 10-15% of their body weight to carry.

Lighten the load.
Consider talking to school administrators or speak up at PTA or school board meetings if you have a concern for the weight of your child’s bag coming home.
The school may be able to offer some additional time for children to get to lockers during the day to exchange books in between classes.
Your local legislators may be able to offer help as well.
Many US schools have already switched over to using laptops and laptop bags for that matter, and document sharing systems which can help reduce weight of a child’s bag.
Backpacks that are used to carry heavy books should not have narrow straps that dig into the shoulders can interfere with circulation and nerves. These types of straps can lead to tingling, numbness, and weakness. Look for a backpack with multiple compartments to help distribute the weight which is ideal.
Improper backpack use may also eventually lead to bad posture. Younger children may be especially at risk for backpack-related injuries because they are just smaller and may carry loads that are heavier in proportion to their body weight. Again, check the weight of your child’s bag in proportion to their own body weight.
Besides capacity, there are some more factors that play an important part in deciding the best backpack for kids. Straps of the bag should be comfortable for the shoulders, and the bag itself should protect books from inclement weather.

What Can Your Kids Do?

Lift properly, teach your child to bend at the knees.
Load heaviest items closest to the center of your back.
Kids who sling a backpack over one shoulder as many do, may wind up leaning to one side to offset the extra weight.
Encourage your child to use a backpack with two shoulder straps to help prevent lower and upper back pain and strain their developing shoulders and neck.

Since it is really all about the kids, the design and color of school bags, laptop backpack, and travel backpacks are also very important. Mostly, kids pick those designs that they may see around them in their lives and make them happy. Brand is the least important factor for the parents and for many kids, the brand does not even matter at all. Many brands do not focus much on making both comfortable and designer bags for kids. Thankfully there are still some good companies out there like the one we found ourselves, that can offer a great solution for both parents concerns for functionality in a design that kids no matter what their age, are sure to love.

Lifestyle

The Message Women Need Today: Cathi Carrier’s Mission to Bring Back Self-Worth

Published

19 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Michelle Langton

Many women spend years quietly stepping out of the frame, avoiding cameras, hiding behind filters, or brushing off compliments because they no longer recognize the person staring back at them. It is not vanity that drives those moments; it’s a deeper feeling of slipping away from yourself. That emotional weight is something Cathi Carrier has witnessed for more than three decades, and it’s what shaped the mission behind Purely Bella.

Cathi didn’t build her career in a boardroom. She built it in a treatment room, one client at a time, listening to stories that rarely make it into conversations about skincare. Women would sit down and immediately apologize for their appearance, convinced they were “too late” to take care of themselves. What she saw instead were women who had given so much to others that they had forgotten how to give to themselves.

Her understanding didn’t come from textbooks. It began when she was a teenager struggling with acne that felt bigger than a skin issue; it affected her confidence, her social life, and even the way she carried herself. That experience gave her empathy long before she had professional expertise. She knew what it meant to feel uncomfortable in your own skin, and she never forgot it.

In her treatment room, skincare became something deeper than cleansing and moisturizers. It became a place where women were welcomed without judgment, where they could talk openly, exhale, and feel seen. Over the years, she learned that skin reflects far more than age or stress. It reflects how much space a woman has allowed herself to take up in her own life.

Stories like Sara’s stayed with her. Sara, a retired schoolteacher, walked in with her shoulders rounded and her spirit dulled. She apologized repeatedly for her skin, barely making eye contact. Carrier designed a simple treatment plan, but the real change came from the conversations, the consistency, and the small moments where Sara started to reconnect with herself. Months later, Sara hugged her and said she finally felt like herself again. That transformation, skin healing paired with emotional renewal, is what convinced Carrier that skincare can be a form of healing when done with intention.

Still, she reached a limit. Her treatment room could only help one woman at a time. The desire to create a greater impact pushed her to start Purely Bella, a brand built to carry her philosophy beyond the walls of her spa. The transition wasn’t glamorous. She had to learn manufacturing, sourcing, regulations, and everything in between. But she stayed focused on real women and real results, clean formulations that worked, without the fear-based marketing the industry often leans on.

Purely Bella’s mission is rooted in a simple promise: you don’t need to turn back time to feel beautiful. You need to move forward with confidence and grace, knowing your best self is not behind you. Cathi believes this deeply. She speaks often about how a morning skincare routine is not just about products, it’s a daily choice to care for yourself, a reminder that you matter.

Her mission is also a response to the pressures women absorb from the world around them. Society is quick to tell women their value fades with every birthday. Cathi rejects that entirely. She wants daughters to grow up watching their mothers feel proud in photos, not hide from them. She wants women to recognize that aging is not the enemy; the real enemy is the culture that tells them to shrink as they grow older.

In a crowded beauty landscape, Cathi Carrier is not asking women to chase perfection. She is inviting them to remember who they are, and to step back into the frame with confidence.