98. How to Lift Your Kids Without Back Pain: Treat Them Like a Heavy Load

How to Lift Your Kids Without Back Pain: Treat Them Like a Heavy Load

If someone handed you a 30-, 40-, or 50-pound box, you would probably think about how you were going to lift it. You might clear your path, move close to the box, get a good grip, and prepare your body before picking it up.

But when that weight is your child, it’s easy to scoop them up without thinking—often while distracted, rushing, twisting, or carrying three other things.

Your body doesn’t know that the load is adorable. It only knows that it is heavy, wiggly, unpredictable, and lifted repeatedly throughout the day.

In this episode of Everyday Ergonomics for Working Moms, Dr. Amanda Rabin, PT, DPT explains why moms need to treat lifting their children with the same care they would use when lifting any other heavy load.

We’ll talk about:

Why familiar lifts still count as physical work

How repeated lifting adds up throughout your day

Why holding your child away from your body makes them feel heavier

Planning where your child is going before you pick them up

Moving your feet instead of lifting and twisting

Letting your child participate in the lift when developmentally appropriate