Children need to take a more active
role in transporting themselves to school.
In 2001, only 13% of school children walked or bike to school, compared
to 41% in 1969 (McDonald & Aalborg, 2009).
Coincidentally, the obesity rate has increased from 4.2% to 17% in
children ages 6 to 11 (McMillan,
2009).
There are several reasons that
students are not walking or biking to school.
The first is the fact that schools are now serving larger geographic
areas, so schools are larger and are often located in more remote, less
walkable areas. As noted in the Active
Living Research article, “as travel distance increases, the number of children
walking and biking decreases” (McMillan, 2009).
Other reasons that fewer children walk or bike to school are more
related to parental issues. There is the
concern for safety, both as it relates to traffic and sidewalk infrastructure,
and the idea of “stranger danger”. The
final reason is just that it is more convenient for the parent to transport the
student to school.
I feel that the benefits to
children in actively transporting themselves to school are too important to be
ignored. Various studies have shown that
walking and biking students have a higher level of physical activity, have a
lower body mass index (BMI) , have greater cardio-respiratory fitness, and
perform better on tasks that involve concentration than students that traveled
to school by motorized vehicles (McMillan, 2009; Goodyear, 2013). Beyond the physical and mental benefits,
active transportation can lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases with fewer
cars traveling to schools. There is also
a cost benefit to the school districts which currently spend approximately 4%
of school expenditures on the student transportation system (McDonald &
Aalborg, 2009). The final benefit is
independent mobility.
My concern is that students today aren't learning how to incorporate a healthy lifestyle into their daily
Ways in which we can address the
problem of distance to school include locating schools closer to residential
neighborhoods and having smaller school boundaries. This will reduce the distance that students
must travel from home to school. Parents
would feel less compelled to drive their student to school and the school
district could reduce or eliminate travel routes for the school buses, reducing
vehicle miles traveled and diesel consumed.
The issue of traffic safety can be
addressed by creating safe routes to school by adding sidewalks and bike lanes,
classroom education regarding safe travel, and enforcing traffic regulations. Safety from “stranger danger” can be
addressed by having supervised walking or biking routes. This can be supervised by a school staff
member or a parent volunteer. The idea
of “stranger danger” might also be reduced just by the greater number of people
visible on the street. Neighbors become
more conscious of who is around and the idea of community helps people
recognize when someone is out of place in an area.
Finally, there is the idea of
independent mobility. This is the point
where a student is found capable of getting places without adult
supervision. Some previous research
found that in the United States ,
children began to travel independently around the age of 10 (McDonald &
Aalborg, 2009). Parents decide when they
feel comfortable allowing their child to be independent. Ground rules are often set for the time of
travel, distance from the home or parent, and what routes can be taken. For a parent, it can be liberating to not be
tied to your child’s schedule on a daily basis.
It opens up time for other opportunities for the parent that weren't available when chauffeuring a child was a necessity. Independent mobility also has a change on the
child that can be seen in several ways.
There is high self-esteem that comes from having their parents’ trust
and the responsibility and ability of getting where they need to be, and
getting there on time. There is the
improved sense of direction and ability to recognize landmarks and familiar
places which help them navigate their way to their destination. And finally, there is the sense of confidence
because they are no longer dependent on another person to transport them where they
want to go.
With all the benefits associated
with active transportation, I feel we are doing a disservice to students when
we do not allow them the opportunity to get themselves to school. When we decide that they shouldn't have to
walk or bike, we create the potential for serious physical health problems in
the future. We also stifle their
emotional and psychological development because they do not develop the
knowledge to successfully navigate their way in the world. For these reasons, I feel children need to
take a more active role in transporting themselves to school.
Why Parents Drive Children to
School: Implications for Safe Routes to
School Programs
By Noreen C. McDonald and
Annette E. Aalborg
Journal of the American
Planning Association, Vol 75, No. 3, Summer 2009
Walking and Biking to School, Physical Activity and
Health Outcomes
By: McMillan
TE
Published: 5/1/2009
The Link Between Kids Who Walk or Bike to
School and Concentration
By: Sarah Goodyear
Obesity - The Health Problems
Associated With Obesity by Dr. Ang C. C.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Obesity---The-Health-Problems-Associated-With-Obesity&id=3806393
Tessie- great post! Your ideas reminded me of a disheartening blog post I read a few weeks ago about a six-year-old girl who was detained by the police for walking (with her parent's permission) to a nearby post office in her neighborhood. I think that "stranger danger" has become so overblown in our society, as seen in that post I mentioned. A balance has to exist between caution, awareness, and protection that still emphasizes active travel for children! Given the myriad benefits you described, especially physical health and self-esteem, we need more emphasis on travel modes that encourage physical activity for children.
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