Celebrating National Walk To School Day
Sidewalk Stompers, Inc. (www.sidewalkstompers.org) is a nonprofit incentivizing more children to walk and bike to school for better health, safety, and community connection.
National Walk to School Day is Wednesday, October 8th, and this year will mark Tampa Bay’s biggest and best celebration in history!
Walking or biking to school isn't a new idea – in fact, it's how most kids got to school until the 1980s! Within a generation, however, that changed to less than 10% of students walking. And children’s health and safety has suffered in consequence, with higher diagnoses rates of childhood obesity, juvenile diabetes, and mental health struggles. National Walk to School Day was established in the United States in 1997 with the goal of bringing attention to how important it is for our communities to create safer routes to school so more children can make an active lifestyle part of their present and future.
Why do we walk to school?
Healthy bodies
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 60 minutes of physical activity a day for children to build stronger bodies and better mental health. Making exercise part of a daily routine means children are more likely to continue to include exercise in their lives as they get older.
Healthy brains
- An active route to school starts a child’s day of learning with exercise in the natural environment instead of the sedentary stress of a carline. Even a 15-minute walk can reduce the risk of depression and other mental health risks.
Healthy schools
- Transportation planning – like crosswalks, sidewalks, and crossing guards – is based on the number of students using the roads. More walkers and bikers earn more safety measures. Also, shifting idling cars in a carline away from our school zones improves school air quality.
Healthy communities
- More active communities mean more opportunities for people to interact with each other. When people are out of their cars they can meet neighbors, meet classmates, and find connections, building a more supportive network around your child.
Interest in school walkability is growing in this region. Last year, fifty-eight Tampa Bay area schools signed up to participate in this event. This year promises to be an even larger occasion, with more students across Tampa Bay walking and biking to school.
Schools and PTAs can even turn this day into a school celebration, with ideas like inviting the school mascot, asking law enforcement and local businesses to join the event, offering morning coffee for parents, and identifying “satellite” parking areas so families who live too far to walk from home can join in the fun.
Around Tampa Bay, Sidewalk Stompers offers prizes, flyers and materials, and event planning advice to any interested school. National website Walk Bike & Roll to School (www.walkbiketoschool.org) can also be a helpful resource.
Whether this is your first National Walk to School Day celebration or a family tradition, 2025 is a great year to be a part of this community event! Remember: walking to school is good for your body, good for your brain, good for the planet, and good for your community.
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