Walking to School for Exercise

Kids walking to and from school is a great way to get parents and the family involved in physical activity. Children who live closer to school, and can walk to and from school, are more likely to walk to school¹ and can get up to 48 percent of their daily recommended amount of physical activity.² For others, a drop off site that allows for supervised walking of children before and after school can help increase number of steps walked.³

Time and safety are commonly reported as barriers to walking to school regardless of whether starting from home or a drop off location.^3,4 To be effective, new routines and safety measures need to be considered.

1. Creating a new routine at home

Creating a new morning routine will help you manage tasks and ensure that everyone gets to school and work on time. Consider the following to help you and your family when creating this new routine.

• Make lunches the night before
• Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier than normal
• Set an alarm to leave the house by a certain time
• Bring weather appropriate gear like an umbrella, hat, sunglasses, jacket, scarf, etc.
• If driving to a drop off location, leave walking shoes in your vehicle

2. Creating a new routine at school and drop off location

Walking from home to school requires coordination of family members, which can be accomplished by creating a new routine at home. Conversely, walking to school through use of a drop off location is more complex and can require time from dedicated volunteers and support from school staff. Consider the following if you do not live near a school but would like for you and your children to walk to school for exercise.

• For those who want to walk their children to school
  • Select a place where you can safely park and walk your child to school
  • Consider distance based on
    • Age of child(ren)
    • Amount of exercise you would like to accomplish
    • The amount of time it will take to walk with your child (you will also have to walk back to your vehicle)
• For those who would like to start a walking group
  • Start by gathering volunteers among parent groups and school staff and recruit as many parents as possible
    • Teachers are often critical of school walking groups because they fear that they will do most of the work³
  • Select a place where parents can safely park and walk children to school
  • Consider distance based on
    • Age of child(ren)
    • Amount of exercise you would like to accomplish
    • The amount of time it will take to walk with your child (you will also have to walk back to your vehicle)
  • Consider selecting a halfway point in which two parents/teachers take the children the entire distance to school allowing other parents to leave for work
    • Rotate the parents who walk the entire distance
    • Include willing teachers in the rotation
    • Use a group chat app so that walking group members have access to the schedule and any changes that arise

3. Safety considerations

Safety is a top concern for parents and teachers with many variables to consider.^1,3-7

• Lighting
  • Select areas with proper lighting
  • Consider speaking to city and school officials about adding lighting to certain areas
  • Carry flashlights, lanterns, etc. and have the children help light the way
• Traffic measures
  • Connected blocks and neighborhoods around schools can increase the number of students who walk to school and the amount of time spent being physically active⁵
  • Consider speaking to city and school officials about the following ideas that can be implemented around the walking path⁶
    • Public awareness campaigns with signage
    • Law enforcement patrol
    • Speed control including speed bumps, speed limits
    • Traffic barriers including folding, water filled, and/or crosswalk barricades, bollards (sturdy, short, vertical post), fencing, and flashing beacons
    • While common, crossing guards are not as effective in high traffic areas and other traffic measures are needed⁷
    • Walking paths away from traffic (e.g., maintained field, urban area with streets closed to traffic)
• Designated starting location(s)
  • Select a starting location that is/has
    • Enough parking for all parents
    • Away from traffic
    • Signage and lighting that brings awareness to the area
    • Maintained grass/dirt/gravel/etc. if sidewalks are unavailable
• Volunteers
  • Consider running a background check on all volunteers
  • Always have 2-3 parents/teachers walk with children throughout the entire route to school