We know as parents you lead increasingly busy lives, and it’s no easy feat to get all your family members dressed, fed, and out the door and on time for school and work in the morning. This can result in children being driven by their parents instead of them walking or wheeling to school or the bus stop.
Our goal is to provide families with useful resources that will help integrate walking/wheeling to school (or the bus stop) into the morning routine. The tremendous benefits of walking/wheeling vs. driving to school are undeniable.
Only 35% of Canadian children achieve the daily recommended amount of physical activity1
- Activity and exercise have been shown to result in higher academic performance1
- Physical activity improves focus and concentration1 and self-confidence and positive emotions2
- Children who exercise experience reduced stress, depression and anxiety2
- Walking to school exposes youth to lower concentrations of air pollutants than driving3
- This lack of activity can be linked to adverse effects such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes1
Follow us on Twitter @EMCHalton for additional active school travel information and resources.
This printable calendar provides ideas to help keep you motivated to actively travel to school throughout the school year
This printable how-to guide teaches you how to organize a Community Walkabout in your neighbourhood.
This interactive map shows you the walk/wheel distances from your school. You might be surprised to learn how close you really are.
SOURCES
1 ParticipACTION, 2018; Tremblay & Willms, 2003; Janssen & Leblanc, 2010; Warburton et al., 2006
2 Lambiase et al., 2010; Ramanathan et al., 2014, Iancovich, 2015; ParticipACTION, 2018
3 ScienceDirect Examining children’s exposure to air pollution during the school commute, 2018