National Walk to School Day

This Wednesday, October 2, is National Walk to School Day, which happens annually on the first Wednesday of October. The national event began in 1997, when it was coordinated by the Partnership for a Walkable America. The program is now supported by the National Center for Safe Routes to School organization.

The idea behind the event is to encourage students to be more active, have fun, to encourage independence and to create healthy habits. A 2011 report showed that 10-14% of traffic during peak morning drive times was headed to a school. An added bonus of walking to school is cutting down the amount of potentially dangerous traffic in areas near neighborhood schools, decreasing opportunities for accidents.

Right now, there are 3,931 schools registered to participate in Wednesday’s event, many of them in our state. You can visit walkbiketoschool.org to see if your neighborhood school is participating as a group. Of course, you don’t have to be registered to participate! Just get out and walk or bike with your kiddos to school. Enjoy the fall weather and time spent together. You may find that your kids enjoy walking to school more than once a year.

*Bike to School Day happens in May each year.

Source: walkbiketoschool.org, pexels.com