By Katia Murillo-Valdez

If you are able to walk your child to and from school, consider these five benefits of doing so:

1. Walking is great exercise for you and your kid. If done regularly, even for 10 to 15 minutes, it can improve your health, your circulation and your mental concentration. And it can help you and your kid stay in shape and keep extra pounds off.
2. It’s better for the environment since walking doesn’t release pollutants into the air. Also, pedestrians breathe cleaner air than drivers who end up inhaling emissions in their car for hours.
3. Your daily walk will be a good time to talk with your child and get to know each other better. You can also meet other kids and parents walking to school.
4. By walking, your child will learn about safety in the street and how to navigate traffic. Your child will also get to know the surroundings and the neighborhood better.
5. You’ll be saving money on gas, as well as avoiding headaches with traffic and parking. When walking, you set your pace, making it less stressful than driving.

Before you walk, always consider whether you live in an area that is pedestrian friendly. Are sidewalks available? Are streets safe? You can also try:

The Walking Bus
An initiative that is becoming very popular and showing positive results is the “walking bus.” If there are other children in the neighborhood who go to the same school, you can coordinate with their parents so they can walk together. Parents can take turns walking with the kids.

Older kids
If your child is mature and old enough and if the way to school is safe, consider letting them walk to school without you. Currently, few teenagers are taking advantage of “active transportation,” that is, walking or riding a bike to get from point A to point B, and a great opportunity to engage in physical activity.

Article courtesy of La Buena Vida