Walk to School Day Tomorrow

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

02 Oct 2007 10:11 AM

Tomorrow is National Walk to School Day. We talked about this last year and I'm a little flummoxed that it's here again so quickly. It feels like just yesterday that my daughter and I were strolling along with a few hundred others in the walk to school effort in our own neighborhood. She still has the sticker they gave her last year.

She came home with the flyer from school yesterday and was bouncing up and down. She wanted to meet several of her friends and walk with them on the walk to school effort. I could go too, but she would rather I walk a few steps behind. Lesigh, she's only six and already Mommy isn't cool anymore. But that's neither here nor there.

Why Should You Participate?

National Walk to School Month focuses on children and kid fitness. But it's also about fitness for the whole family. If you have the opportunity to walk to school together, it gives you time to talk, encourages exercise and it saves on gas. For us, this is totally doable because we're only a half mile from the school. But if you live further out. Consider driving to a half mile from the school, parking and walking with your child the rest of the way.

Participating in community events is a fantastic opportunity for our children to commit to something outside themselves. They are motivated by their friends and in turn, provide motivation for others. It's also a good time of year for the walk to school effort, being neither too hot nor too cold.

We're going to be walking to school tomorrow, whether I have the 'time' or not, because I want to make the time to encourage my daughter to maintain a high level of physical activity. She enjoys walking to school anyway and it's a chance for her to share with her friends, improve herself and at the same time, it encourages me to do the same.

Is your school hosting a walk to school event? Are you going to participate? How could you incorporate more walking into your every day life?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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