Walking to School Health
Going
parents’ driving habits, conducted in October 2011 by
TescoCars.com, parents drive their children somewhere three times a week, clocking up an average of 50 miles. A small number of parents – 3% – drive their children 200 miles a week. If you include the school run, these fi gures would be altogether considerably higher. Why do parents off er a taxi service so often? The main reason is because of concerns over safety. But how realistic are these concerns, and are we in danger of wrapping our children in cotton wool so they never become street-wise? Dr Pat Spungin, family psychologist and
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author of several parenting books, says, “The greatest danger to children is traffi c, not paedophiles. Parents’ fears are disproportion- ate to the actual dangers, because the reality is that most incidences of harm to children stem from adults they know.” The Royal Society for the Prevention of
Accidents – RoSPA – acknowledges that it is sometimes hard for parents to determine risks. Their guiding principle is, “Life should be as safe as necessary, not as safe as pos- sible”. Cassius Francis, RoSPA’s Youth Liaison Offi cer says, “For many years, RoSPA and a wide variety of our safety education partners
www.fi rstelevenmagazine.co.uk
ow far did you drive your children this week? For most parents, being a taxi driver comes as part of the package: according to a survey into
have championed the philosophy that children and young people develop important life skills by having opportunities to experience risks and not by being wrapped in cotton wool.” RoSPA’s advice is that children under the age of
11 should be taught to choose a safe place to cross the road and how to use pedestrian crossings. According to educational child psychologist,
Jeni Hooper, the best way to protect children is to make them confi dent. Outside of travelling to and from school, children do and should have the opportunity to travel independently. Whether it’s a rural bus journey, using the train or the London underground, walking or cycling, children need to be able to cope with these and be prepared for using them safely. But how do you know when to let go? Is there a minimum age when your child should be allowed out alone? Hoop- er suggests eight years old, and Spungin agrees, “Most children aged eight or nine should be allowed to walk from school or to friends on their own.” Hooper says, “At this age a child can hold a conversation with an adult and can ask questions if there are any problems.” They will also have devel- oped some ability to know if a stranger is showing an
solo
Children should have the opportunity to travel independently. Glynis Kozma asks when is the right time to let them start?
unhealthy interest in them. Dr Spungin says, “Children who are going on a long journey should be post-puberty, around 12 for girls and 13 or older for boys.” She adds, “Parents need to know their children. A shy child may not ask for help if something goes wrong, whereas a younger, yet more confi dent child will.” As parents, we often advise our children
not to talk to strangers – but is this sensible? There may be occasions when they need help and a stranger is the only person around. It’s about learning to read the situation, Hooper ex- plains. “Children need to develop their intuition. They need to be able to talk to strangers without encouraging the conversation to develop and to move away if they feel uncomfortable.” Travelling by bus or underground poses
other risks. Bus journeys can be problematic for a young child.
Find out more
Jeni Hooper
www.jenihooper.co.uk Dr Pat Spungin
www.drpatspungin.co.uk Tales of the Road
www.talesoftheroad.direct.gov.uk The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
www.rospa.com Sustrans
www.sustrans.org.uk Objective Travel Safely
www.objectivetravelsafety.com
Does the bus stop in the same place on its return jour- ney – or a few hundred yards further down the road? Is it a request stop when you want it to stop? If you haven’t done the journey yourself, then you need to fi nd out. Letting go and allowing your
child to travel independently is never easy. As Dr Spungin says, “If they aren’t asking, they are probably not ready. You know your child best.”
Summer 2012 FirstEleven 53
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