Ditch the car in National Walk to School Week
It's a sad fact of modern life that nearly half of all school-age children don't walk to school regularly, and more and more pupils are being driven to school in a car. This trend is contributing to reduced physical activity and increased childhood obesity, urban congestion and air pollution.
This week, parents are being urged to leave the car behind and walk to school with their kids. As well as the obvious environmental benefits here, it has been shown that getting children to take exercise in the morning prepares them far better for a day of learning than a sleepy ride in the back seat of a car.
Parents are also being urged to take this opportunity to teach young children the basics of road safety and make their children more aware of the dangers of walking in urban areas. A recent report entitled 'backstreet children' has shown that children who have not practised walking to primary school are denied the chance to learn how to deal with traffic, making them vulnerable on our roads. If you have young children and find this as concerning as I do, have a look at these recommendations from the Think! road safety campaign: it's got some good advice on what to teach children of different ages.
Source: Walk to School Week Website
