October is Walk to School month

Perhaps the most important reason for walking to school is to enable kids to develop road safety awareness. Children see things differently to grown-ups – their peripheral vision is two-thirds that of an adult and they have difficulty determining where noise is coming from. They also cannot judge the speed and distance of vehicles.

Another key benefit of walking your children to school is that it helps to promote a healthier lifestyle, which includes making sure they get enough physical exercise every day.

The Department of Health recommends that children take an average of
13,000 steps per day. Currently, only six out of ten boys and four out of ten girls achieve the recommended one-hour of moderate physical activity every day.

However, road safety is clearly a key concern in letting kids walk to school.
Pom-Bear recognises the many benefits for kids of walking to school and offers the following safety advice for parents:

1. Teach your children the Green Cross Code and ensure they follow it every time they’re out walking. Children should not walk to school alone until they have learned and confidently practice the code.
2. Where possible, walk on pavements, keeping well away from the curb, and always walk between your children and the traffic.
3. Make sure they can be seen at all times by using reflective and high visibility clothing. This is especially important at night and as the mornings and early evenings become darker during winter.
4. Hold younger children's hands firmly at all times.
5. Teach them to pay attention when walking and never listen to personal stereo systems, use mobile phones or hand-held games.

Pom-Bear is a fun teddy-bear shaped potato snack that children love. Deliciously crisp and light they melt in the mouth to give a unique taste. It’s one snack that you won’t mind them having as each pack is made from the best quality potatoes and contains:

• no artificial colours or flavours
• no artificial preservatives
• now with 25 per cent less salt and 50 per cent  less saturated fats

Visit www.pom-bear.co.uk for more information about the Follow the Bear
campaign and Pom-Bear snacks.