Until recently, I was blissfully unaware that there’s an event called International Walk to School Day. I mean, I didn’t even know there were days dedicated to coloring books or carrot cake—who knew?
But putting those fun facts aside, International Walk to School Day is indeed a thing, and it’s quite the spectacle. Kids, parents, and teachers come together in droves to walk along popular routes to school. Local news stations send reporters to chat with parents, and newspapers capture the event in photos. For my family, and several others in our neighborhood, this isn’t just a single day—it’s a full-on Walk to School Month and Year.
Every morning and afternoon, my kids, alongside a few friends from the neighborhood, make the trek to and from school all by themselves—without any adult supervision. In an age dominated by helicopter parenting and meticulously planned playdates, it’s a rarity for children to traverse these distances unaccompanied. Yet for my kids, who range from first to fifth grade, this is a routine occurrence (we do carpool when the rain pours, of course). Aside from the crossing guards at a couple of intersections, they enjoy a delightful three-quarters of a mile walk completely on their own, and it’s nothing short of amazing.
Now, before you start raising eyebrows, let me clarify: I’m not putting my kids in harm’s way. They know the route, understand the importance of sticking together, and are well-versed in stranger danger and traffic safety. In fact, despite all the sensationalized fears about crime and kidnappings, statistics show that it’s actually safer to be a child in America now than it was back in the 1970s and ’80s when kids routinely walked to school alone.
Walking to school alone isn’t just safe; it comes with a ton of benefits that kids miss out on when they’re driven or escorted by adults. For starters, it provides them with a much-needed break from their otherwise tightly regulated days. Most of their time is orchestrated by adults, whether they’re at school or home. Those 25-minute walks are precious snippets of freedom that help them decompress from the rigors of structured schooling.
Moreover, their solo stroll offers a great chance to develop essential social skills. They look out for each other in ways they might not if a grown-up were hovering nearby. My youngest, still in first grade, sometimes struggles with the walk after a full day of school. He slows down, stops to collect interesting rocks, and gets a little sidetracked. While the older kids might grow impatient, they stick together and wait for him. One of my primary goals as a parent is to foster independence in my children, and these walks allow them to experience what that means in a safe, albeit unsupervised, environment. They might mess up along the way, but let’s face it—growing up is a messy business, and learning independence comes with its fair share of bumps.
The perks aren’t just for the kids, either. I enjoy the benefits as well! They leave the house earlier and return later, giving me over an hour of extra time to prep for their arrival. Plus, it spares me from the chaos of the carpool line.
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In summary, allowing kids to walk to school alone has transformative benefits for their development and independence, while also giving parents a little extra time to breathe.