Walk to School Week

This week was "Walk to School" week in England. I wonder if it actually made a difference to the number of kids venturing to school on foot? I wonder if fuel bills have been lower and if the environment has benefited ever so slightly? There has been no evidence of increased foot-fall along Welsh pavements over the last five days despite the sunshine. There were still as many cars battling into the school car park, the same rush hour scurry! Why, oh why are children not encouraged to walk to and from school when we all know the benefits of regular exercise?

A ten minute walk to school would ensure our young were bright and alert for their educational day. A walk home together would allow you to discuss the day before the rush to start the tea whilst competing with "Balamory" or "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" as it is in our house at the moment. But what if you live far from your child's school? Have to drop off on the way to work? Well, you could park five minutes walk away. This would have multiple benefits - lower stress levels on the parking front, increased child safety as you are parking away from the congestion, not to mention the fresh air and exercise. Maybe after the half term, eh!

Comments

[Frog in the Field]

Hi!!
Thanks for visiting my Blog, and giving me a mention in your earlier post, I'm flattered.
You write a great Blog.
Frog

[blogthatmama]

Hello there! Good luck with the blog I totally agree with you about walking to school, most children love exercise once they get going, it's just getting going that takes the effort..

[Adventure Togs]

Thank you Frog in the Field and blogthatmama for paying a visit. You are the first and I am grateful of your comments! Happy blogging!

[Walk2School]

You make a good point in your post about the difference that Walk to School week makes.

We realised a number of years ago that Walk to School week was great for raising awareness and publicity, but we need year round walking to really make an impact.

While WTS week is our major annual push, we also run a scheme called WoW which rewards children for walking to school regularly. We also work with local authorities to develop new ways to get the message across.

At the end of the day it is (particularly with the younger children) the parents who are making the decision to drive (though nagging from the children will help!).

That is why we released a report for Walk to School week pointing out to parents the dangers of driving their youngsters everywhere. As they grow up, they don't have the experience needed to cross roads on their own. We believe this leads to the spike in child casualties as the children go to secondary school.

For more on all these, check out our website: www.walktoschool.org.uk

and thanks for a great, thought provoking post!