Facts and figures

The changes in children's lives

In 1971 80% of seven and eight year olds travelled to school without an adult⁽¹⁾. By 2009 only 11% of seven to ten year olds did the same, with 42% of children being driven to primary school⁽²⁾.

The biggest concern for adults when it comes to the school journey is traffic danger, with 52% choosing this as the main reason for accompanying children (aged seven to 13) to school⁽³⁾.

In 1973 three-quarters of children played in the street. By 2006 this had declined to 15%⁽⁴⁾.

A study of four generations of the same family reveals how the area children are able to roam independently has shrunk from a few miles in the early 20^th century to a few hundred yards in the early 21^st century⁽⁵⁾. Read the Daily Mail article.

As children, 70% of today's adults experienced most of their adventures in outdoor natural environments. Only 29% of children today have a similar experience with many playing in more designated areas⁽⁶⁾.

A third of children aged seven to 12 are not allowed to ride a bike to a friend's house without an adult present, and the same percentage are not allowed to play in their local streets or area unsupervised⁽⁶⁾.

The impact of this loss of independence

Reduced independent mobility has been linked to higher rates of obesity, reduced self-confidence, and reduced emotional resilience⁽⁷⁾.

Around a third of children do not achieve the recommended levels of physical activity of 60 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity each day⁽⁸⁾.

Among boys and girls aged two to 15 in England, the proportion who were obese increased between 1995 and 2007, from 10.9% to 16.8% among boys, and from 12.0% to 16.1% among girls⁽⁹⁾.

20% of children in Wales are obese⁽¹⁰⁾, and the same percentage of children in Scotland⁽¹¹⁾ and Northern Ireland⁽¹²⁾ are overweight or obese.

By 2050 it is predicted that in the UK as many as 70% of girls and 55% of boys could be overweight or obese⁽¹³⁾.

The reduction in levels of physical activity due to increased car use affects children's stamina, alertness at school and academic performance⁽¹⁴⁾.

Children deprived of play by traffic and other parental concerns have been labelled 'battery children' and demonstrate "considerably less advanced social and motor development, and are less autonomous"⁽¹⁵⁾.

94% of adults believe that as children they had freedom to go and explore, but only 40% think this is true for today's children⁽¹⁷⁾.

In the morning rush hour, one in five cars on our roads are taking children to school, particularly primary school, a journey of 1.5 miles on average⁽²⁾. Only 7% of these trips are dropping children off on the way to work - the overwhelming majority of cars go straight back home again⁽³⁾.

The benefits of achieving the change necessary to enable kids to be free range

Most children own bikes, and are very keen to use them - nearly half of children in schools where Sustrans works want to cycle to school⁽¹⁶⁾.

Both boys and girls get more challenge and adventure from bike riding and skate boarding compared to other play activities including playing on computer    games⁽⁶⁾.

Adventurous play makes children feel happy (90%), free (58%) and confident (49%)⁽⁶⁾.

A study in California showed a direct link between children's fitness levels and academic scores in Literacy and Numeracy. On average, those in the fittest category had scores twice those of the least fit⁽¹⁷⁾.

Physical activity has also been associated with psychological benefits in young people by improving their control over symptoms of anxiety and depression⁽¹⁸⁾.

A modelling exercise in the North West of England indicated that 140 killed or seriously injured child casualties could have been prevented each year between 2004 and 2008 if 20 mph traffic speed zones had been introduced in residential areas across the region⁽¹⁹⁾.

Cycling and walking the school run would reduce the 2 million tonnes of CO₂ annually produced by cars taking children to school, and save parents money on the 500 million litres of fuel used on the school run ⁽²⁰⁾ - worth over £694 million at average pump prices for unleaded and diesel in April 2011⁽²¹⁾.

References