Get Your Shoes Shined for “International Walk to School Day”

Started in Great Britain, we ask all kids in the Middle East walk to school on October 6!

If you usually drive your kids to school, get out your walking shoes: October 6, is International Walk to School Day.  This “green” event began in Great Britain in 1994, and has spread to 40 countries including Israel and Turkey. Too many children are driven or bused from door to door, even though they live near school.

At the end of the school day near my kids’ elementary school, the buses are lined up on the narrow street. Cars vie to get as close to the entrance as they can, so their children won’t have to walk more than a few steps. The school asked the municipality to subsidize a traffic guard to help kids cross from the school to the parking lot, but that misses the point. Near-accidents happen on a daily basis, and the huge  traffic means that the kids who walk to school are less safe than they would be if everyone walked.

Walking or biking to school reduces carbon emissions, improves children’s health, and reduces crime, traffic congestion and car accidents (like this tragic one in the UAE). International Walk to School Day raises awareness about environmental and safety issues, and encourages discussion about safety issues.

Parents worry about letting their kids walk to school on their own. But there is safety in numbers. Encouraging kids to walk and play outside helps neighborhoods become child-friendly, and ultimately safer.

If you missed Walk to School Day, don’t worry—the celebrations are continuing all month. And the ecological, social and health benefits will remain with children for a lifetime. You could organize a walking bus, like the one in Israel.

More green parenting posts:
Parents Organize Walking School Bus
World Breastfeeding Week Focuses on Baby-Friendly Policies
Meat Prices Going Up? Tips for Switching to a Vegetable-Based Diet

Image via rkramer

Author: Hannah Katsman

Hannah learned environmentalism from her mother, a conservationist before it was in style. Once a burglar tried to enter their home in Cincinnati after noticing the darkened windows (covered with blankets for insulation) and the snow-covered car in the driveway. Mom always set the thermostat for 62 degrees Fahrenheit (17 Celsius) — 3 degrees lower than recommended by President Nixon — because “the thermostat is in the dining room, but the stove’s pilot light keeps the kitchen warmer.” Her mother would still have preferred today’s gas-saving pilotless stoves. Hannah studied English in college and education in graduate school, and arrived in Petach Tikva in 1990 with her husband and oldest child. Her mother died suddenly six weeks after Hannah arrived and six weeks before the first Gulf War, and Hannah stayed anyway. She has taught English but her passion is parental education and support, especially breastfeeding. She recently began a new blog about energy- and time-efficient meal preparation called CookingManager.Com. You can find her thoughts on parenting, breastfeeding, Israeli living and women in Judaism at A Mother in Israel. Hannah can be reached at hannahk (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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