Does It Matter if Kids Walk to School?

The Associated Press reports that fewer than half of children in this country who live within a mile of school walk or ride a bike to get to class.

I used to walk 5 miles to school in the snow, blah, blah, blah. This may not be a bad thing in and of itself. It might be an example of society simply becoming more modern and safety issues with children walking or riding alone being taken more seriously. For example, while the walk down the Baltimore Annapolis Trail is a nice one on the way for many to Severna Park Elementary School, do you really want your 2nd grader walking alone down that trail in the moring? Twenty years ago when we were all bouncing around with child seats, such a walk was more frequent. But far less so today.

But the issue is worth raising because of escalating rates of childhood obesity. With the No Child Left Behind Act, many schools have been cutting back on recess and physical education to focus on test scores. One way or another, kids do need to find a way to exercise.

Most studies suggest that less-educated families exercise less and have higher rates of obesity. This is good news for kids in Millersville and Severna Park. But this survey found that the children of well-educated parents were more likely to get a ride to school. So if we have smart kids pushing harder in academics over PE class and we have them catching a ride to school, these are factors that are going to push child obesity north. She said in those families, both parents are likely to have jobs and may believe it is safer and more expedient for one of them to drive their child to school on their way to work.

Besides the fact that walking may be dangerous in some areas because of crime or traffic, I also think walking is boring. In 2008, there are so many fun things competing for time in the evening, kids are more prone to stay up later and have less time to for the boring walk to school.