Fewer than half of U.S. children who live close to school walk or ride their bikes to class, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. In sharp contrast, 90 percent of kids did so in 1969. This should come as no surprise to me. Suburban sprawl is a 21st century fact of life, and there aren’t a whole lot of sidewalks connecting subdivisions and schools. Not to mention, the era of school vouchers means that most children don’t live within a mile of their school of choice. But this statistic is sad to me for so many reasons.
I grew up in an older city with sidewalks on every street and, sure enough, I walked or biked to school from Kindergarten through the time I got my first car as a senior in high school. Those daily trips were full of simple little memories – filling up on Gobstoppers at the candy store, trying to avoid the bully who hung out at the corner of Elm and
Today’s youngsters don’t get to enjoy those same experiences. There are no more sidewalks (thanks suburbia), no more candy stores (thanks childhood obesity), and very little free time (thanks Mom for scheduling out the entire summer). Compounding the problem are the safety concerns that weren’t around – or at least weren’t considered – when I was young. Sending your children off on their own takes a new breed of courage.
Having said that, I don’t know whether today’s children know what they’re missing. If given the choice, would they pick fresh air, exercise, and bullies over the climate-controlled ride in Mom’s minivan? (Sigh)
There are at least two organizations in the
Hopefully, this new statistic about walking rates will get people thinking… and on their feet.
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