Now is the Time to Walk or Bike to School

by Eric Rempel

This is the time of year many parents struggle with how their children get to school. True, COVID 19 has made this a year like no other, nevertheless as parents decide whether to “take the car”, very little has changed in that respect. How your children get to school is really a life style decision. Below I have assembled some thoughts for you to consider as you make this decision.

• Statistics show the vast majority of school-aged kids aren’t getting enough physical activity – only five per cent of children and youth in Canada between the ages of five and 19 reach the daily minimum of 12,000 steps.

• It’s not only school-aged children that lack exercise. Most parents would also benefit from more exercise.

• Adding a walk to and from school is a simple way to help reverse this trend, whether children are sent or accompanied.

• Safety is frequently identified as a barrier to walking to school. The research does not support this. A traffic accident or an abduction is a risk, true, and when it happens it is tragic. It will attract nation-wide attention, but it’s a rare occurrence. That’s why it makes the news. By contrast the negative effects of inactivity are subtle, but certain.

• Children who walk to school have been found to have higher academic performance in terms of attention/alertness, verbal, numeric, and reasoning abilities; higher degree of pleasantness and lower levels of stress during the school day; and higher levels of happiness, excitement and relaxation on the journey to school. Walking to school can further foster personal growth by developing a sense of independent decision making, emotional bonds with peers and the natural environment, and road and traffic safety skills.

• According to the Active Living Research Centre, after 20 minutes of physical activity, students tested better in reading, spelling and math, and were also more likely to read above their grade level. After being in a physically active after school program for 9 months, memory tasks improved 16%.

• Walking to school is a community building exercise. It’s as we walk in our community, whether as adults or children, that we get to know our neighbours. When I walk through my community I invariably interact with people. When I’m in the car I don’t. There is safety in the community.

• For some time is a barrier. A commitment to walking to school might require a small change in schedule like heading to bed and waking up earlier. The result might be less screen time, but once the change is normalized, time will not be a barrier.

How our children get to school is one of many lifestyle choices we all make that have to do with activity. We take the car to work or we walk or bike to work. We purchase all of our vegetables or we keep a garden. We use a machine to clear our driveway of snow or we use a shovel. We heat our home with gas piped in from Alberta or we use the abundant firewood surrounding our community.

The active lifestyle choice contributes not only to our personal health, but also to health of our community and or planet.