National Walk to School Day is held annually on the first Wednesday in October. This event currently involves communities from more than 40 countries. Walk to School Day began in 1997. Since then, it has become a part of every school year.
Today, thousands of schools across America and the globe participate in an effort to raise awareness for safer routes to school. Walking (biking or rolling) to school is fun for everyone. It gets them outside, gives children some independence and a sense of adventure, as well as many other benefits.
What Happens On Walk To School Day?
Walk to School Day is a one-day event that is a part of a much bigger effort. An international effort, throughout the entire month of October. It raises awareness of all the benefits of staying healthy and active, cleaning up litter, and having safe routes for children to walk to school on.
Walk to School events can be put together, too. They don't need to be anything big. Parents and kids can decide to meet up at a park and walk to school together or make it a bigger celebration of sorts. Schools in the US can register for their event at www.walkbiketoschool.org. When schools register for their event, they join thousands of others in the same great cause.
Also, schools that register will have access to an abundance of resources like stickers, badges, and certificate templates. Those items can be used to let others interested in walking to school know what's happening that day. Media outlets can become involved as well to publicize the event. That school also gets counted in with a national tally of schools for National Walk to School Day.
Teaching Healthy Habits
According to Walk, Bike, & Roll To School, active trips to school enable children to incorporate the regular physical activity they need each day while also forming healthy habits that can last a lifetime. Regular physical activity helps children build strong bones, muscles, and joints. It also decreases the risk of obesity. In contrast, insufficient physical activity can contribute to chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke.
Making Routes To School Safe For Children
According to the CDC, each year, the US spends seven times as much money on medical costs alone to treat people killed or injured while walking and biking than it does on preventing those deaths and injuries through putting in sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, and other infrastructure that keeps people safe.
Since Safe Routes to School was first adopted, the program has seen significant growth across the U.S., and various federal bills have provided the program with enough funding to ensure ongoing success. In fact, every State Department of Transportation receives annual funding for Safe Routes to School based on the number of students enrolled in primary and middle schools.
Threats to Personal Safety When Going To School
- Bullying: Bullying is any hurtful or aggressive act toward an individual or group that is intentional and repeated. Bullying tends to be the most common issue schools face, both inside of school and en route to/from school.
- Gangs: A gang is an ongoing, loosely organized association of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, that has a common name, sign, symbol, or color, whose members engage, either individually or collectively, in violent or other forms of illegal behavior.
- Violent Crime: Violent crimes include rape, sexual battery, physical attack or fight, the threat of physical attack, and robbery. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, NCES, the rate of violent incidents at schools was 26 incidents per 1,000 students.
- Abductions: Abductions include family abductions, as well as non-family abductions. While child abductions are often a parental concern, the vast majority of missing children are not the result of abductions.
Fun Things To Do While Walking To School
- Nature Scavenger Hunt: Having an adult or two along on the walk will help with this. They can make up a short list of items like rocks, leaves, and twigs, to name a few, and children can collect them as they are found.
- Pick Up Litter: This one would require an adult for sure if young children are involved. Just making sure they don't pick up broken glass or such things and cut themselves. Litter is still unfortunately a big problem, and every bit counts.
- Wear School Colors: Showing off school spirit is always fun. Doing this while you walk to school shows it off to the community, too.
Sources: Walk, Bike, & Roll To School, CDC, Safe Routes to School, State Department of Transportation, NCES