Life In Australia

Source: National Walk Safely to School Day Website

Friday, 15th May 2009 was National Walk Safely to School Day in Australia. Some of its main aims were:

• To help develop vital road crossing skills (the children who normally go to school by car do not have much opportunity to develop these skills)
• To promote the benefits of walking and help create good walking habits at an early age (children nowadays get much less exercise than previous generations)
• To ensure that younger children hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road
• To reduce road congestion and air pollution
• To reduce dependency on the car. If children learn to become dependent on a car at an early age, this will be a hard habit to break as adults.

At my daughter’s school, all children who walked to school last Friday were rewarded with a sticker and breakfast at the school canteen, consisting of toasted raisin bread with butter and a piece of fruit, donated by the local fruit market.

Parents were encouraged to walk with their children to school on National Walk Safely to School Day. At a guess, I would say that at least 50% of the children at my daughter’s school normally go to and from school by car, despite the fact that parking is very limited in the vicinity of the school. Of the parents I know who come by car, only one walked with her child to school on National Walk Safely to School Day.

We walk to school every day. As we don’t have a car, we don’t have an alternative. Even if we did have a car, I would not use it for the school run. It would take me longer to put the children in the car, drive to school, find somewhere to park, take my daughter into the school grounds, collect my car and drive home again than it would to simply walk from door to door. I also enjoy a little bit of fresh air and exercise in the morning - I always feel more alert when I return home.

We are fortunate in that we only live about five minutes’ walk away from the school. However, I know several familes who live a similar distance away from school and who use their car every day.

I think that National Walk Safely to School Day is a good initiative to have, but, unfortunately, I don’t think it will be enough to change many people’s habits. You can find more information on the initiative on the National Walk Safely to School Day website.