We're All More Sedentary These Days

Here's an article I found about the trend for decreasing activity in kids.

They mention specifically the fact that fewer kids walk to school, and of those who do, the majority walk less than 600 meters (or about 6 blocks - 1 block is about 80-100 meters).

We live three blocks from school, so there is no possible scenario that would make us drive. We would literally have to park the car closer to the house than to the school, and it would be beyond silly...

Still this article has got me thinking about why fewer people are willing to walk further:

1) Bad weather. This is easy to combat, with the right clothes. Even those who can't afford expensive stuff can still layer to keep warm and dry.

2) Safety. I can see this being an issue for older kids who don't want to be seen walking with their parents. Mom or Dad could drive them closer to the school and drop them off without really being seen by peers. I'm not going to judge - I'm not 12 anymore. What seems silly to me could be of paramount importance to a tween. Still this leads to the issue of neighbourhood safety - how do we address that?

3) Time. This, in my opinion (being someone who lives in a pretty safe 'hood that never gets below -10C) is the big culprit. I think kids and parents alike are sleep deprived enough as it is without having to get up :30 - :45 earlier to allow time to walk.

What other reasons could there be to not walk? Any thoughts? Identifying the barriers is the first step to overcoming them.
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