6 Reasons to Walk (Part of the Way) to School

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6 Reasons to Walk (Part of the Way) to School

October 9, 2019

“I’m in a rush.” “The roads are too busy.” “The weather’s rubbish.”

These are just some of the excuses we commonly make to avoid walking to school or work. When we need to get on with our day or want to avoid getting damp, it can be easy to forget all of the benefits of walking to school. From fitness to finances, there are many ways in which walking to school can help your children, family and wider community. Keep reading for just six of the best reasons to ditch the car and get on your feet!

1 | Healthy Kids Are Happy Kids

We’ve all seen the headlines about child obesity, inactivity and heart problems. So why not do something about it?! Just 30 minutes of gentle walking a day is enough to boost your cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness, reduce the risk of heart dishes, increase bone and muscle strength and reduce body fat.

From fitness to finances, there are many ways in which walking to school can help your children, family and wider community. If you live too far to walk all the way to school, parking further from the gates and walking for five to ten minutes could still reap major rewards. Keep reading for just six of the best reasons to ditch the car and get on your feet!

1 | Healthy Kids Are Happy Kids

Walking not only benefits children’s physical health; it has huge advantages for their mental health, too! Like other forms of exercise, walking releases endorphins which can improve your mood and reduce stress and anxiety. What’s more, spending time outdoors is known to make both adults and children feel happier!

2 | Help Your Child to Concentrate

While the full cognitive impact of walking is not yet fully understood, a Danish experiment in 2012 found that children who walked to school were able to concentrate better than those who travelled by car. The results showed that exercise had a larger impact on concentration levels than diet, although breakfast plays an undeniably important role.

Exercise is known to have many other benefits for our most important muscle; the brain. Regular aerobic exercise has several memory-boosting effects and can have an immediate impact on memory formation. Walking while reciting new vocabulary, timetables, etc. could help these new words and theories to stick!

3 | Safety First

Many parents think roads around schools are too busy for walking, but the journey to school is the perfect chance to teach children about the rules of the road. From zebra crossings to traffic lights, use your walk to school to engage kids in safety topics from an early age.

Roads outside schools will also be safer the fewer cars there are. Not parking directly outside school gates or in the surrounding area will make roads less congested. Children will therefore be able to look both ways when crossing the road and will be more visible to drivers

4 | A Greener Way to Travel

Parents often claim their area is too polluted to walk to school, but did you know air inside cars can be 15 times more polluted than the air just a few metres away?! Cars take in emissions from surrounding vehicles and recirculate them around the cabin. When you’re stuck in traffic (which often occurs around school drop-off and pick-up times), vehicles produce even more of these dangerous emissions, including pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide.

Needless to say, cars and other motorised vehicles directly contribute to global warming. Before buying your car, it will have already produced dangerous pollutants through the steel, rubber, glass etc. used to make its parts. What’s more, extracting the oil used to fuel your car is an energy-intensive process that damages local ecosystems. Walking, meanwhile, is an environmentally-friendly mode of transport. Children can also learn about the environment during their walk to school, spotting different flowers, trees, birds, insects and other wildlife along the way.

5 | A Budget-Friendly Mode of Transport

Cars are becoming increasingly expensive as is the cost of running them. Fuel costs are set to rise over the coming years and insurance is far from cheap on most family cars. Then there’s the cost of cleaning your car, buying new parts and purchasing child-friendly accessories, such as booster seats. Why not scrap all those costs and walk instead?!

While walking, you’re also less likely to pop by the supermarket or browse the petrol station for unnecessary snacks, which quickly add up both cost and calorie wise. You could also find a new hobby the whole family enjoys and decide to go walking instead of going to the cinema, bowling or out for dinner.

6 | The Social Aspect

Children are spending more and more time in front of screens and not engaging with their family and friends. Walking could give them the social interaction they need and help them open up to their parents.

Forming a walking group with other families in your neighbourhood will also open more opportunities for social interaction. This is particularly important for young children, as interacting with peers develops their cognitive ability and communication skills. As children reach the end of primary school, you may feel comfortable letting them walk with friends and without adults. This will develop their independence, listening skills and confidence.