A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION...WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK (Other Motoring Issues)

Member Name: chrissypops

Product:	Other Motoring Issues
Date:	01/10/01 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gets you fit, healhy and un cloggs the roads

Disadvantages: All depends whether you can find that stuff to unglue your pants from the seat of your car

In this age of cars, bikes and buses its no wonder children have very little awareness on how to cross roads, are unfit, and not to mention the pollution in our air these days. I know there are a few adults who do walk their children to school because they have no choice, but is that an excuse?

Anyone who goes on a school run will know how difficult it is. The rush hour traffic, kids running out in the road. Its murder, so heres a thought....................

What about a WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK? Scary thought eh? Walking, what's that? Well for those who are cello taped or super glued to their cars, its easy. Get up earlier, get ready and put one foot in front of the other.. that's it. .left, right, left right. Your walking. Easy isn't it.

The Walk to School campaign was created by the Pedestrians Association in response to a huge decrease in the number of children walking to school in Britain over the last 25 years, paired with over 50 per cent * increase in car travel. Research has shown that around 20 per cent of early morning and mid afternoon traffic is caused by "the school run". Around a third of those children who are driven to school live within a 15 minute walk of school.

Walking provides essential exercise, half of five to 11 year olds and more than one in three boys never take the equivalent of a ten minute brisk walk each week. * (Statistics from the National Travel Survey 95/97, published by the Department of Environment and Transport.)

Walk to School Week is to promote several things in our motor orientated world. To ease up the traffic on the road, to teach your child safety on the roads, to be healthy. Its no wonder that children get knocked over left right and centre these days. Children have less sense on the roads these days due to the fact that they are ferried about in cars. You can tell them about the green cross code, but the only way they are going to know, its to experience
what crossing roads are like. Most children which are knocked down in my area are not on major roads, but on quiet ones. Little street roads that are not used very much. My daughter ran straight across a small lane the other day and it frightened me senseless. This lane isn't used very often by if there had been a car coming, she would of been very lucky to be alive if a car had hit her.. The Green Cross code isn't something that can just be talked about, its need practice. To have practice children of all ages need to walk.

THE GREEN CROSS CODE

Choose a spot were you can see clearly in both directions and no behind parked cars.

Stop and wait on the pavement near the kerb.

Look right and left to see if traffic coming all the time listening with your eyes and looking with your eyes.

If traffic coming wait until its passed and look right and left again

When all traffic has gone, walk across looking left and right as you go.

Sounds simple, but it isn't. Even as adults we take unnecessary risks when crossing the roads, even with our children. This stupidity is passed to our children, who will play on roads and not see the dangers of roads and traffic.

1 in 7 children now suffer from chronic asthma and many sufferers say that car exhaust fumes make breathing difficult when they do walk to school. Many children lack in confidence, stamina and energy levels which even a brisk walk of 10 minutes will increase tenfold. For us parents, walking to school reduces the risk of heart disease, stokes and high blood pressure. What better way to stay fit and healthy than to take a brisk walk to school with your children.

For those who have your excuses lined up for the comments section, I'm sorry but there isn't any excuse. If you have to go to work afterwards approach your employer and ask them if they can give you a 20 min leeway. Many employers have been approached by LARSOA ( Lo
cal Authority Road Safety Officers Association) in most regions across the country and asked them for support. Ask if your employer if they are supporting Walk to School week and ask if you can be a little bit flexible with your working time. Even it its just once this week and least you are doing your peice.

Live too far away from school? No problem. You can drive part the way and walk the rest. This would help by reducing parking outside school gates and clogging up the roads. Again even if its five minutes up the road, you can talk about road safety to your child however old they are.

You could even drop you child at a friends house who lives nearer to school and they could walk together with their parents. Older children might like this opportunity to walk and talk, and meet up with others along the way. You don't have to just arrange it for this week, you could arrange that on one or two days a week that your child and their friend could do this.

Car sharing is another possibility, especially if you have to drive or you live too far from school. It just takes two or three parents to make a rota on picking up and dropping off the children to and from school. I see mainly cars with just one child in. Just imagine if that one person could take three other children, that's 3 cars off the road. 3 cars less that are polluting the air and 3 cars less blocking up the roads around the schools. Some child minders do pick ups and drop offs to schools, again if they have a car full its a few less cars on the road.

Winters coming? Ok. Ok so ideally when its raining, cold and horrible its not nice, but even if its just cold and windy, its still worth while walking. Children have a lot of fun learning about different seasons and how it effects us. You could even make it into a nature walk, collect the already falling leaves and make pictures when you get home. Wrap up warm, grab your brolly and have some fun !

Unfortunat
ely cars are an essential part of our busy lives nowadays but our health is important too. Walk To School isn't about stopping parents driving to school but just to consider what impact their choice of transport has on their own and other children. Many schools have problems with parking and many haven't got the funding for on site parking either. In our society many people are getting unfit and unhealthy and exhaust fumes affect our environment and this is the drawback of owning cars. That's of course if you discount the road tax cost, petrol prices, maintenance, insurance, its an expensive job keeping a car.

This week, even though its cold, it maybe wet and I might be late in going somewhere else. I shall be making a point of either walking to or from or part the way to Jess's nursery which is part of the Kilnhurst primary school where I live. Its about 30 minutes walk for me. I have a warm coat. I have a brolly and a rain cover for my younger daughters buggy if it rains. I might not walk all week, but at least I know I am doing what I can to save my families health and doing something for the environment.



If you want to know more about Walk to School Week have a look on

www.walk2school.co.uk


http://www.walktoschool.f9.co.uk/

Or ask you school.

Support Walk To School Week and look out for the summer week too!

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