Victorian kids don’t walk or ride to school even when it’s close

An alarming 70 per cent of children don’t walk or ride to school, with most parents – even those living less than 750m from their school –  dropping their kids off by car, according to new study of 1000 Victorian households.

ACU researcher Alison Carver, said convenience and stranger danger fear were the main reasons parents stopped their children from making their own way to school.

Dr Carver, from the Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, was the lead author on the latest VicHealth research which analysed travel data from more than 1000 primary school families who lived within 2km of their school.
Children who made their own way to school were more active and walked, rode or scooted to class instead of catching a lift or the bus.

Dr Carver said it was vital to make sure kids were physically active every day.

"Being a habitual source of physical activity, the daily trip to school is one of the best value investments we can make for their future health,"

Physical inactivity has been linked to an increase in the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, mental health and cardiovascular disease later in life.

The survey, which also involved researchers from RMIT and the University of Melbourne, highlighted the importance of supporting parents to encourage their children to walk or cycle to school independently.

“Our research shows independent kids are more active kids. Kids who travel with their parents to school are more likely to be driven and are less likely to walk, ride or scoot,” she said.

"We know there are several factors behind this including parents fitting the pickups and drop offs into their busy schedules, the distance to school and the walkability of their neighbourhood."

“We also know many parents are scared to let their kids travel to school by themselves, which is why programs like VicHealth’s Walk to School program are important as it encourages kids to build their skills to be able to walk to school safely and parents to feel comfortable.”

The research was published as VicHealth launched its Walk to School month.

 

Have a question?

We're available 9am–5pm AEDT,
Monday to Friday

If you’ve got a question, our AskACU team has you covered. You can search FAQs, text us, email, live chat, call – whatever works for you.

Live chat with us now

Chat to our team for real-time
answers to your questions.

Launch live chat

Visit our FAQs page

Find answers to some commonly
asked questions.

See our FAQs