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Do your kids walk to school?
Categories: Fun & Activities, Health & Safety, Education
I drive my sons to school every day. There are a lot of reasons for this; for starters, my sons go to private school, not to our neighborhood school, and their schools aren't within walking distance of our house. But even to get to the public elementary school in our neighborhood would require my kids to cross two busy streets during rush hour, which scares the living daylights out of me.
It turns out that my kids are not alone; according to a story on NPR's Day to Day, fewer than 15 percent of American school children walk to school these days. Some communities--and the US government--are implementing programs to encourage kids to walk, primarily in order to combat childhood obesity. The strategies include having parent volunteers who take turn chaperoning groups of kids to and from school each day and offering students rewards for walking to school. But some parents say that walking their kids, even if it is only a few blocks, just won't work. One mother interviewed by NPR said that walking her children to school takes 20 minutes while driving them takes less than five. She works and for her, that extra fifteen minutes is an important part of her day.
I have a girlfriend who lives in Kansas City, in a neighborhood where all the kids walk to school. The secret is a bike trail that runs through the backyards of the homes, providing a safe space for the kids and their bikes and scooters. My friend's son is in kindergarten this year and her husband walks to school with him every day (her husband happens to work across the street from the school). She says that the bike path, with its congregations of school-bound children, was one of the reasons they bought that particular house.
I would love to be able to walk my sons to school; I would much rather spend that time in the morning holding my child's hand, not fighting traffic. Our choice of private school makes this impossible, but it leaves me wondering what everyone else is doing. Do you walk your child to school? Why or why not?
It turns out that my kids are not alone; according to a story on NPR's Day to Day, fewer than 15 percent of American school children walk to school these days. Some communities--and the US government--are implementing programs to encourage kids to walk, primarily in order to combat childhood obesity. The strategies include having parent volunteers who take turn chaperoning groups of kids to and from school each day and offering students rewards for walking to school. But some parents say that walking their kids, even if it is only a few blocks, just won't work. One mother interviewed by NPR said that walking her children to school takes 20 minutes while driving them takes less than five. She works and for her, that extra fifteen minutes is an important part of her day.
I have a girlfriend who lives in Kansas City, in a neighborhood where all the kids walk to school. The secret is a bike trail that runs through the backyards of the homes, providing a safe space for the kids and their bikes and scooters. My friend's son is in kindergarten this year and her husband walks to school with him every day (her husband happens to work across the street from the school). She says that the bike path, with its congregations of school-bound children, was one of the reasons they bought that particular house.
I would love to be able to walk my sons to school; I would much rather spend that time in the morning holding my child's hand, not fighting traffic. Our choice of private school makes this impossible, but it leaves me wondering what everyone else is doing. Do you walk your child to school? Why or why not?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Amanda 5-09-2007 @ 5:54PM
the only way i would let my kids walk to school is if a)we live right across the street or; b) i could walk them there.
this world is tooooo screwed up to let your kids out of your sight for a minute!!! just the mere thought scares the bejeezus outta me!
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Terri Mauro 5-09-2007 @ 6:39PM
We live next door to the high school my daughter attends, and she does walk there -- I can watch her go into the building from my window. It's so nice not to have that commute!
I still do drive my son, and his school really is too far to walk, at least given how hard it is to get him out of bed in the morning. Can't wait 'til he's next door, too.
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SKL 5-09-2007 @ 7:21PM
I think if neighborhoods could get together and agree on a bunch of kids walking to school, it would be a lot safer. Everyone in my family always walked to school, and nothing horrible ever happened.
It's really healthy (physically, mentally, and socially) for the kids to do this. I would do it if I had any choice at all.
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Ann Adams 5-09-2007 @ 10:09PM
My two younger girls started walking to school without me but in a group in 4th grade. Our one main street has a crossing guard. Before that, I drove them.
Now that they're in middle school, I drive them to the bus stop in the morning and they walk home either from the bus stop or the school in the afternoon.
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Anita O'Brien 5-09-2007 @ 10:14PM
We live 3/4 of a mile to my first grade daughter's school and I try to walk her to school as much as possible, for two reasons---exercise and to be enviromentally friendly. The school requires the children to be in third grade before they let them walk by themselves and I fully intend for that to happen in two years. She does cross one busy street but there is a crossing guard who we trust.
As far as crazy people out there, we live in a safe area and she is aware of steps to take if approached by "strangers". I'm more worried about keeping her healthy and strong than the less than winning the lottery chance of a stanger harming her.
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LMTT 5-10-2007 @ 12:12AM
Too many bad things have happened to kids while walking to and from school. If I could see them from our house while they were walking, sure - but since I can't - no way.
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callistawolf 5-10-2007 @ 1:29AM
I'm unable to walk my child to school from my home as we live across a very busy street without any crosswalks (plus, up a rather steep hill but that's neither here nor there). However, I have a friend whose son is in my son's class and she lives closer to the school so I drive down to her house and we walk the children there together. They get to walk and we get to walk and the fresh air and exercise (and conversation!) is wonderful.
I definitely wouldn't let them walk alone, however, since there are a lot of older children in the area and there have been known to be gang fights around the school before and after school. Not to mention all the parents who don't heed the posted speed limit for school zones and zip down the street without looking for children crossing.
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Nina 5-10-2007 @ 7:54AM
I used to walk my daughter to school everyday.....then my son was born and he made that near to impossible. So she started walking with a few friends. The school she was going to was right down the street from our old apartment and she was already 10 years old. My mother bought her a cell phone so I could chat with her and her friends while they walked. That made me feel a whole lot better.
We now live in a much safer, quieter neighborhood and the school is once again right down the street, so she still walks. She is 11 years old though. I always walked with her when she was younger though. I just couldn't imagine letting my 6, 7 or even 8 year old walk to school alone.
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Marylena 5-10-2007 @ 8:55AM
I don't walk my child to school, even though I can literally see the school from my house, maybe a quarter mile away. There are two reasons.
First of all, the elementary school is on the edge of town near where the speed limit drops from 55 mph to 30 mph through town. It is located on the major state highway running through our county. Many of the drivers are still going 55 mph (or more) as they pass the school. Most of the student population lives on the opposite side of the road from the school. In the past, there was a crossing guard, but they've stopped that and moved to busing everyone, even those who live just across the highway. They're concerned about safety (and perhaps liability too). The traffic is just too fast and busy in the morning with people going to work. It's just not safe. I don't even feel safe crossing with her.
The other reason I don't walk her is that I'd have to bring my 3 year old along. We've passed our strollers on to others. So every morning, I'd have to get both kids up, dress all of us, and walk the round trip across the busy road. It's much easier just to let my 3 year old sleep and put my older child on the bus when it stops right in front of my house.
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Ginny 5-10-2007 @ 10:08AM
Even if I wanted to allow my children to walk to school I couldn't. I work out of the house, so I have to leave before school starts. I take my children to before-and-after-school care and they ride the bus from there. If I were a stay at home mom though, we'd all walk together. Some days when I play hooky from work, we walk and the kids LOVE it! Maybe when they are older, I'll allow them to walk, but for now, they are just too young.
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heidi 5-10-2007 @ 10:30AM
My kids walk when the weather permits. The elementary school is about a block away and there is a crossing guard. We live in a very safe community, but there are still police cars who park in the neighborhood every morning and afternoon while the kids are coming and going.
We wanted our kids to be able to walk (it's a big part of the reason we bought our house). It's good exercise and teaches them responsiblity. I'm thankful that it's a safe option where we live.
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Cathy 5-12-2007 @ 2:48PM
we lived .48 miles from J's kindergarten and we walked every day. I had visions of holding hands, and investigating slugs along the way - but it was not so! Transitions are so hard, he always had to have (insert object here), one that he usually couldn't find. So no matter how prepared I was, no matter how early we got started I was always dragging him kicking and screaming. We drive now (different school, different city), and it is SOOO much easier - but my memory softens the bad and I am wistful for the walks in the mild Portland weather to start my day!
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