The walk to school needs to be safer to improve our childrens happiness in Scotland

14th May 2016

More than half of Scottish parents see a noticeable improvement in their children's happiness after they walk to school, new research has found.

National charity Living Streets conducted research with parents of primary school children in Scotland and found that half see an improvement in their child's mood (52%) and behaviour (49%) after they've done physical activity. A quarter of Scottish children don’t get the recommend level of physical activity. Schoolchildren in the UK are some of the unhealthiest and unhappiest in the world and walking is one of the easiest and most accessible ways of maintaining a healthy weight and reducing stress levels.

Walking to school has been shown to improve children’s concentration, help them feel more alert and achieve better grades than those who are driven - now parents are highlighting that it can improve mood too. Over half (55%) said that they saw an improvement in their child’s happiness after the walk to school.

As Living Streets’ Walk to School Week (16 - 20 May) gets underway, Stuart Hay, Living Streets Scotland Director says: "Not only are we experiencing a childhood obesity crisis, we’re also facing a rise in mental health and wellbeing problems. We know that keeping active is a major part of the solution.

"We must prioritise ways of encouraging physical activity if we want today’s children to become healthy adults. The walk to school is a free, easy and accessible way for parents and their children to achieve this. Sadly, just 47 per cent of primary school children in Scotland travel by foot compared to around 70 per cent of their parents’ generation. We must reverse this decline."

Living Streets’ research shows that Scottish parents don’t just think the walk to school benefits their children. Almost 45 per cent said they feel healthier for walking their kids to school and 40 per cent said they feel happier after walking in. Just under a third also said it helps them to feel less stressed and 70 per cent said that it’s a great time to spend with their children.

Of the parents surveyed whose children don’t walk to school, almost half (44%) said that they would like them to walk to school. However, congestion and unsafe driving outside the school gates overwhelmingly deter parents. A huge 52 per cent said that vehicles driving too quickly was their greatest worry when it came to the school run and a third cited overcrowding (30 per cent) and unsafe parking (34 per cent). Aggression was also a factor with 20 per cent experiencing it, either from other parents or local residents.

Hay continues: "We are pleased the Scottish Government has made school travel a priority in the national walking strategy. This means delivering change so that more children and parents feel safe walking to school. This will not only give the nation’s health a boost but also cut congestion and pollution."

This year over 20,000 pupils in Scotland will be taking part in Walk to School Week, thanks to support from the Scottish Government and Paths for All.

*60 minutes a day.