Press Releases: Colorado
October 7, 2008
Kaiser Permanente Asks Parents to Park the Car and Walk Children to School
Podcast Available: Pediatric Wellness Expert Sandy Stenmark, MD, Shares Tips for Starting a Safe Walking Program
DENVER – Fewer than 15 percent of children walk or bicycle to school today compared to more than 50 percent 10 years ago. Studies show that 23 percent of children get no free time or physical activity at all. As a result, school-age children are less active, less independent and less healthy than their counterparts in previous generations.
On National Walk to School Day, October 8, Kaiser Permanente medical staff will join neighborhood students and families in walking to school, while raising awareness of the importance of physical activity and the impact of their actions on the environment.
"We believe good health belongs to everyone," said Sandy Stenmark, MD, Kaiser Permanente Colorado's director of Pediatric Wellness. "That's why we are asking parents to park their cars and walk or bike with their children to school. A brisk 30-minute walk or bike ride really does make a difference when it comes to promoting health and preventing obesity and the benefits extend to academic performance and the environment. Best of all, it is fun, too."
The goal of Walk to School Day is to introduce families to the idea, and to build support for the kinds of programs and important community changes such as better sidewalks, zebra stripes and crossing guards that will encourage more biking and walking every day.
For more suggestions on starting a walking regimen, including important safety tips for parents, listen to Dr. Stenmark's Walk to School Podcast.
Suggestions for Starting a Safe Walk/Bike to School Routine
- Establish a walking/biking route for your child, practice it, and identify points along the way where your child can ask for help if necessary like a friend's home, a recreation center, library, etc.
- Teach your child safety rules and practice with them.
- Have your child wear bright clothing.
- Introduce your child to school crossing guards.
- Find a buddy for your child to walk/bike with.
- Start a Walking School Bus. Parents can take turns walking/biking a group of children to school each day. The "bus" stops at different houses and picks up the kids. The parent is the "bus driver."
- Start small. Try a walking/biking day of the week and encourage families to participate on the same day. Adults can take turns supervising.
- If you don’t live near your school or don’t have the time to do the entire walk/bike, park further away and walk the remainder of the way to school.
About Safe Routes to School and Walk to School Day
Safe Routes to School is a national and international movement to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bicycle or walk to school. The program has been designed to reverse the decline in children walking or biking to school, and can also play a critical role in reversing the alarming nationwide trend toward childhood inactivity and obesity.
Kaiser Permanente has joined forces with the Safe Routes to School National Partnership to help local communities build new bike lanes, pathways, and sidewalks, as well as launch Safe Routes education, promotion and enforcement campaigns in elementary and middle schools. Programs and policies that promote walking and biking are a key part of what makes for healthy communities. This kind of work is at the center of Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy Eating/Active Living initiative – a major effort our organization is undertaking in the communities we serve to increase access to healthy food and safe physical activity.
About Kaiser Permanente Colorado
Kaiser Permanente Colorado is the state's largest nonprofit health plan, proudly working to improve the lives and health of Denver, Boulder, and Southern Colorado area residents for nearly 40 years. Kaiser Permanente Colorado provides comprehensive health care services to 480,000 members through 17 medical offices and a network of affiliated hospitals and physicians. The health plan was recently named “Highest in Member Satisfaction” among Commercial Health Plans by J.D. Power and Associates. In 2007, Kaiser Permanente proudly directed more than $42 million to community benefit programs to improve the health of all Coloradans. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit our News Center.