field trip update

[electricland]

Kids riding down road to ruin -- decent although not comprehensive summary from the Toronto Star.

I still have to write up my notes...

Comments

[gurudata.livejournal.com]

Hiho,

I'm blown away by how much kids get rides these days. Not only do I see it as a health issue, but it's also an issue of kids never learning how to get around by themselves, and never learning to consider biking and pubtrans and heck *walking* to be viable means of transportation.

But then again, I used to walk home 2 miles from high school every day for years (by choice - it was a social thing for me and my friends, even though we all had bus passes), and ride my bike from laval to deux montagnes to visit my girlfriend... and I was and am still way overweight. So who knows...

Cu,
Andrew

[electricland.livejournal.com]

One of the interesting things I learned at this conference is that apparently parents experience a lot of peer pressure around this issue -- if you let/make your kids walk or take the bus, you're a Bad Parent, even if you think they're perfectly capable.

Life in the suburbs is very different.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Also, of course, weight and physical fitness are only part of the health picture. There's also social interaction, readiness to learn, discovery of new things outside of school... etc. Which kids miss out on if they are driven everywhere.