Vandaag worden ouders en kinderen aangespoord om te voet naar school te komen. De tegenhanger van onze 'fiets naar school week' is naar het schijnt hard nodig, de gezondheid van de kinderen gaat er schrikbarend op achteruit. In het land van de sport zijn er meer en meer kinderen die lijden aan obesitas of overgewicht. Ook in de USA wordt deze dag georganiseerd later op het jaar. Onze kinderen zijn heel blij dat het voor ons geen uitzondering is om naar school te wandelen, ze vinden het heel leuk om 'zelf' naar school te kunnen stappen.
Hieronder de tekst van de officiële website.
Walk Safely to School Day
Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual, national event when all Primary School children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a Community Event seeking to promote Road Safety, Health, Public Transport and the Environment.
It will be held throughout Australia on Friday 4 May 2007
Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual, national event when all Primary School children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a Community Event seeking to promote Road Safety, Health, Public Transport and the Environment.
It will be held throughout Australia on Friday 4 May 2007
The objectives of WSTSD are:
To encourage parents and carers to walk to school with primary school age children and reinforce safe pedestrian behaviour.
To promote the health benefits of walking and help create regular walking habits at an early age.
To ensure that children up to 10 years old hold an adult's hand when crossing the road.
To help children develop the vital road-crossing skills they will need as they become mature pedestrians.
To reduce the car dependency habits that are being created at an early age and which will be difficult to change as children become adults.
To promote the use of Public Transport.
To reduce the level of air pollution created by motor vehicles.
To reduce the level of traffic congestion.
WSTSD is an opportunity for parents and carers of Primary School aged children to promote safe pedestrian behaviour.
WSTSD will inform parents and carers that they need to closely supervise their young children, particularly those under 10 years of age, in all road environments, holding hands when near or crossing the road.
Leading Epidemiologist Urges Parents To Walk To School With Their Children On Friday 4 May
To encourage parents and carers to walk to school with primary school age children and reinforce safe pedestrian behaviour.
To promote the health benefits of walking and help create regular walking habits at an early age.
To ensure that children up to 10 years old hold an adult's hand when crossing the road.
To help children develop the vital road-crossing skills they will need as they become mature pedestrians.
To reduce the car dependency habits that are being created at an early age and which will be difficult to change as children become adults.
To promote the use of Public Transport.
To reduce the level of air pollution created by motor vehicles.
To reduce the level of traffic congestion.
WSTSD is an opportunity for parents and carers of Primary School aged children to promote safe pedestrian behaviour.
WSTSD will inform parents and carers that they need to closely supervise their young children, particularly those under 10 years of age, in all road environments, holding hands when near or crossing the road.
Leading Epidemiologist Urges Parents To Walk To School With Their Children On Friday 4 May
“Over 40% of Australian children now obese or overweight”
On Friday, 4 May, 2007 primary school children, parents and carers across Australia are being encouraged to take part in the national Walk Safely to School Day. An initiative developed by the Pedestrian Council of Australia, Walk Safely to School Day aims to encourage parents and carers to walk to school with primary school-age children to reinforce safe pedestrian behaviour and instil healthy lifestyle habits at a young age.
Dr Adrian Bauman, Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of NSW and the Director of the Centre for Physical Activity and Health said today: “Children in Australia are becoming more sedentary and less physically active and more likely to be overweight and obese with each passing year. Over 40% of Australian children are now obese or overweight. These alarming and international trends are a cause for serious concern; future generations' health status will be impaired and the quality of life among young people today will be reduced. Communities are less connected than they used to be, as we increasingly live in our motor vehicles, connect to TV and the internet and do not engage as much as we should with the outside world, the physical environment and our neighbours. Professor Bauman added: “Interventions and programs such as Walk Safely to School Day are designed to increase walking in communities. Such programs have demonstrable health benefits for both parents and children, as well as increasing social interaction among the local and school community. The health benefits are substantial if we simply walked for half an hour a day. ”
Parents and carers walking to school with their children is a wonderful way to initially engage in this, moving towards developing a family focused healthier lifestyle. The social benefits are incalculable in our stressed and worried world, in that we should be more often "out and about", getting to know our neighbours and the local school communities. Walking to and from school is an excellent way of achieving that goal. The challenge is for more parents to do this regularly with their children, targeting all who live within a walkable distance (say up to 1.5 kilometres) from their local school.” Dr Bauman said.
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