A survey of 503 Victorian parents of primary school children reveals parents who worry about traffic and stranger danger prefer to drive their children to school rather than letting them walk, ride or scoot.
Download the media release
A survey of 503 Victorian parents of primary school children reveals parents who worry about traffic and stranger danger prefer to drive their children to school rather than letting them walk, ride or scoot.
The survey, conducted as part of VicHealth’s Walk to School event, currently taking place across the state, found almost two-thirds (63%) agreed the streets were dangerous to cross and half agreed that traffic was a hazard (57%) for children.
One in five said the risk of crime along the route to school made the walk unsafe – and not surprisingly, children of parents who worried did not let their kids walk to school as often.
However, the survey also showed that parents, whose friends, family members and neighbours’ children walked to and from school, were more likely to let their kids walk to school.
Despite some anxieties about walking, the vast majority of the parents agreed walking to school was a healthy activity (94%) that it was important for children (81%) and beneficial for their health (85%).
"Even though some parents worry about dangers kids might encounter on their journey to school, it’s great that so many have put safety strategies in place in the interest of their health and wellbeing," Jerril Rechter, VicHealth CEO, said.
"One way to get around anxieties about letting kids walk is to accompany them on their journey, or to supervise from a distance. Some schools are designating ‘park and walk’ zones this Walk to School for this purpose.
"Kids need at least one hour of vigorous exercise every day for good mental and physical health so we would really love to see all of the Victorian families taking part in Walk to School keep it up throughout the year."
The Walk to School survey was conducted by Griffith University’s Social Marketing research team.
The majority of respondents (88%) were mothers and the average age of the children taking part was eight-years-old. Around half lived within two kilometres of their school and one-fifth lived more than five kilometres away.
VicHealth’s Walk to School campaign runs across the state until the end of November. More than 500 schools across the state and thousands of children are clocking up the kilometres to win prizes and to make exercise a valued and welcome part of their day.
The students registered online have so far completed more than 17,000 walks, totalling 18,800 kilometres.
It’s not too late to register!
Parents are encouraged to register their kids for the last week of Walk to School, and download the free interactive Walk to School game from the App Store. Registering for Walk to School is free and open to primary school students, parents and teachers in Victoria. To learn more visit: www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au
