Understanding the drive to escort: a cross-sectional analysis examining parental attitudes towards children’s school travel and independent mobility

BackgroundThe declining prevalence of Active School Transportation (AST) has been accompanied by a decrease in independent mobility internationally. The objective of this study was to compare family demographics and AST related perceptions of parents who let their children walk unescorted to/from school to those parents who escort (walk and drive) their children to/from school. By comparing these groups, insight was gained into how we may encourage greater AST and independent mobility in youth living in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Canada.MethodsThis study involved a cross-sectional design, using data from a self-reported questionnaire (n =1,016) that examined parental perceptions and attitudes regarding AST. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore the differences between households where children travelled independently to school or were escorted.ResultsFindings revealed that unescorted children were: significantly older, the families spoke predominantly English at home, more likely to live within one kilometer from school, and their parents agreed to a greater extent that they chose to reside in the current neighborhood in order for their child to walk to/from school. The parents of the escorted children worried significantly more about strangers and bullies approaching their child as well as the traffic volume around school.ConclusionsFrom both a policy and research perspective, this study highlights the value of distinguishing between mode (i.e., walking or driving) and travel independence. For policy, our findings highlight the need for planning decisions about the siting of elementary schools to include considerations of the impact of catchment size on how children get to/from school. Given the importance of age, distance, and safety issues as significant correlates of independent mobility, research and practice should focus on the development and sustainability of non-infrastructure programs that alleviate parental safety concerns.

[1]  A. Fyhri,et al.  Children's active travel and independent mobility in four countries: Development, social contributing trends and measures , 2011 .

[2]  The Measurement of Language Background, Culture and Ethnicity for the Reporting of Nationally Comparable Outcomes of Schooling , 2000 .

[3]  Deborah J Jones,et al.  Children's Independent Spatial Mobility in the Urban Public Realm , 2000 .

[4]  Paul Tranter,et al.  CHILDREN'S TRAVEL BEHAVIOURS IN CANBERRA: CAR-DEPENDENT LIFESTYLES IN A LOW-DENSITY CITY. , 1994 .

[5]  D. O'Gorman,et al.  Active commuting to school: How far is too far? , 2008, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[6]  T. Thomsen,et al.  The surveillance of children's mobility , 2002 .

[7]  D. Ward,et al.  A systematic review of interventions for promoting active transportation to school , 2011, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[8]  P. Tranter,et al.  The hope for oil crisis: children, oil vulnerability and (in)dependent mobility , 2010 .

[9]  G. Giuliano.  Travel, location and race/ethnicity , 2003 .

[10]  G. Bottomley.  Identification: Ethnicity, gender and culture , 1997 .

[11]  Peter Vovsha,et al.  Escorting children to school: Statistical analysis and applied Modeling approach , 2005 .

[12]  M. Tremblay,et al.  Relationship between active school transport and body mass index in grades 4-to-6 children. , 2011, Pediatric exercise science.

[13]  R. Buliung,et al.  Mode shifting in school travel mode: examining the prevalence and correlates of active school transport in Ontario, Canada , 2011, BMC public health.

[14]  C. Lawson,et al.  Children’s Active Commuting to School: Current Knowledge and Future Directions , 2008, Preventing chronic disease.

[15]  Simon Kingham,et al.  Ticket to a sustainable future: An evaluation of the long-term durability of the Walking School Bus programme in Christchurch, New Zealand , 2005 .

[16]  L. Gauvin,et al.  Sustained active transportation is associated with a favorable body mass index trajectory across the early school years: findings from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development birth cohort. , 2010, Preventive medicine.

[17]  Mary Sissons Joshi,et al.  Children's journey to school: Spatial skills, knowledge and perceptions of the environment , 1999 .

[18]  P. Warburton,et al.  Are primary school children gaining heart health benefits from their journeys to school? , 1993, Child: care, health and development.

[19]  Reid Ewing,et al.  Travel and the Built Environment , 2010 .

[20]  J. Sallis,et al.  Active commuting to school: Associations with environment and parental concerns. , 2006, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[21]  Jo Salmon,et al.  How Do Perceptions of Local Neighborhood Relate to Adolescents' Walking and Cycling? , 2005, American journal of health promotion : AJHP.

[22]  Antonella Rissotto,et al.  FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN , 2002 .

[23]  Andrew L Sussman,et al.  Implementation of a walking school bus: lessons learned. , 2009, The Journal of school health.

[24]  J. Gerberding,et al.  Barriers to children walking and biking to school--United States, 1999. , 2002, MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report.

[25]  B. Giles-Corti,et al.  School site and the potential to walk to school: the impact of street connectivity and traffic exposure in school neighborhoods. , 2011, Health & place.

[26]  T. Pitcairn,et al.  Individual differences in road crossing ability in young children and adults. , 2000, British journal of psychology.

[27]  K. Fox,et al.  Licence to be active: parental concerns and 10–11-year-old children's ability to be independently physically active , 2009, Journal of public health.

[28]  T. Lorenc,et al.  Attitudes to walking and cycling among children, young people and parents: a systematic review , 2008, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

[29]  M. Dibley,et al.  Active commuting to school among adolescents in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: change and predictors in a longitudinal study, 2004 to 2009. , 2012, American journal of preventive medicine.

[30]  I B Pless,et al.  Children's exposure to traffic and pedestrian injuries. , 1998, American journal of public health.

[31]  D. Martínez‐Gómez,et al.  Active commuting to school and cognitive performance in adolescents: the AVENA study. , 2011, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[32]  A. F. Kramer,et al.  The effect of acute treadmill walking on cognitive control and academic achievement in preadolescent children , 2009, Neuroscience.

[33]  R. Brownson,et al.  Policies related to active transport to and from school: a multisite case study. , 2007, Health education research.

[34]  B. Giles-Corti,et al.  Personal, family, social, and environmental correlates of active commuting to school. , 2006, American journal of preventive medicine.

[35]  Philippe Apparicio,et al.  Predictors of Parental Risk Perceptions: The Case of Child Pedestrian Injuries in School Context , 2011, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[36]  J. Roemmich,et al.  Effect of a simulated active commute to school on cardiovascular stress reactivity. , 2010, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[37]  J. Sirard,et al.  Walking and Bicycling to School: A Review , 2008 .

[38]  Angie S Page,et al.  Commuting to school: are children who walk more physically active? , 2003, American journal of preventive medicine.

[39]  Sivaramakrishnan Srinivasan,et al.  Modeling children’s school travel mode and parental escort decisions , 2008 .

[40]  R. Buliung,et al.  What's "quickest and easiest?": parental decision making about school trip mode , 2010, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[41]  Guy Faulkner,et al.  Active school transportation in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada: an exploration of trends in space and time (1986-2006). , 2009, Preventive medicine.

[42]  R. Kearns,et al.  The safe journeys of an enterprising school: negotiating landscapes of opportunity and risk. , 2001, Health & place.

[43]  C. Craig,et al.  Physical activity of Canadian children and youth: accelerometer results from the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. , 2011, Health reports.

[44]  Aslak Fyhri,et al.  Children’s independent mobility to school, friends and leisure activities , 2009 .

[45]  F. Bull,et al.  An assessment of self-reported physical activity instruments in young people for population surveillance: Project ALPHA , 2011, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[46]  B. Swinburn,et al.  Cost-effectiveness of active transport for primary school children - Walking School Bus program , 2009, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[47]  A. Pullin,et al.  A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments , 2010, BMC public health.

[48]  Ron N. Buliung,et al.  Toward an understanding of children's perceptions of their transport geographies: (non)active school travel and visual representations of the built environment , 2012 .

[49]  J. Salmon,et al.  Perceptions about the local neighborhood and walking and cycling among children. , 2004, Preventive medicine.

[50]  Noreen C McDonald,et al.  Active transportation to school: trends among U.S. schoolchildren, 1969-2001. , 2007, American journal of preventive medicine.

[51]  M. Orenstein,et al.  Systematic review of active commuting to school and childrens physical activity and weight. , 2008, Journal of physical activity & health.

[52]  R B Isler,et al.  Child pedestrians' crossing gap thresholds. , 1998, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[53]  H. Dirkis,et al.  Walking to school in inner Sydney , 2003 .

[54]  Guy Faulkner,et al.  School travel planning: mobilizing school and community resources to encourage active school transportation. , 2011, The Journal of school health.

[55]  Brian D Johnston,et al.  Pilot evaluation of a walking school bus program in a low-income, urban community , 2009, BMC public health.

[56]  Roger Mackett,et al.  Gender differences in children's pathways to independent mobility , 2008 .

[57]  Paul Kelly,et al.  The relationship between active travel to school and health-related fitness in children and adolescents: a systematic review , 2011, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[58]  T. McMillan,et al.  Urban Form and a Child’s Trip to School: The Current Literature and a Framework for Future Research , 2005 .

[59]  R. Buliung,et al.  Active school transport, physical activity levels and body weight of children and youth: a systematic review. , 2009, Preventive medicine.

[60]  Clifford Qualls,et al.  Impact of Periodic Follow-Up Testing Among Urban American Indian Women With Impaired Fasting Glucose , 2008, Preventing chronic disease.