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Children’s independent mobility: a comparative study in England and Germany (1971-2010)
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... As transport accounts for around one fifth of German CO 2 emissions, AST can counteract climate change, which is also a threat to children's and adolescents' health and wellbeing [8,9]. Despite all these facts, the proportion of pupils who engage in active school transport has been declining internationally in recent decades [10][11][12][13][14][15]. In Germany, there was a decline from 84.4% in 2003 to 78.3% in 2017 [14]. ...
Background:
Active school transport (AST) can increase children's and adolescents' physical activity. The proportion of children and adolescents who engage in AST has declined internationally in recent decades. This study examines the prevalence, correlates, and perceived barriers to AST in the city of Leipzig, Germany.
Methods:
The study sample includes 1070 participants, 364 children and 706 adolescents, aged between 6 and 18 years, as well as their parents. The parents as well as adolescents age 10 and above completed questionnaires concerning sociodemographic variables, means of transport/AST and perceived barriers to AST. The distance between home and school was calculated as the network distance from the home to school address using the Dijkstra algorithm. Based on these data, logistic models were fitted in a two-step variable selection process, using AST as the dependent variable.
Results:
Approximately half of the children (59%) and adolescents (51%) engaged in AST. The prevalence of AST exhibited a negative correlation with age (Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.9-0.99, p = 0.015) and did not significantly differ by gender (children: ORgirls = 1.5, CI = 0.95-2.25, p = 0.075, adolescents: ORgirls = 1.01, CI = 0.75-1.37, p = 0.924). A high socioeconomic status was positively correlated to AST on the morning trip (OR = 1.7, CI 1.3-2.21, p < 0.01) but negatively on the afternoon trip (OR = 0.7, CI = 0.53-0.9, p < 0.01) in the summer. Common barriers for children (from their parents' perspective) and for adolescents (from their own and their parents' perspective) were distance and a heavy load to carry. The parents of adolescents did not perceive any other specific barriers as a serious impediment. Further significant barriers perceived by the younger children's parents were adults giving a lift on the way to other errands, no other children to walk or cycle with, and too much traffic. Too much traffic was also a significant barrier for adolescents, as were taking too much time and bad weather conditions.
Conclusions:
Future interventions promoting AST in an urban environment should be guided by the identified perceived barriers.
Trial registration:
LIFE Child has been retrospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02550236).
... Hillman e i suoi collaboratori monitorano l'andamento dell'autonomia di spostamento di bambini/e e adolescenti di età tra i 7 e i 15 anni dal 1971. Questo monitoraggio ha evidenziato in Inghilterra un calo drastico della mobilità autonoma dei bambini e delle bambine della scuola primaria[1]: dal 1971 al 2010, si è passati, infatti, dall'86% al 25%; lo stesso calo, anche se in minor misura, si è registrato in Germania, dove dal 1990 al 2010, l'autonomia è passata dal 93% al 76%, e in Finlandia, dove si è passati dall'85% al 65% (Shaw et al., 2013(Shaw et al., , 2015Hillman et al., 1990). Nell'ambito della ricerca internazionale condotta nel 2010, che ha coinvolto 16 paesi nel mondo (per una lettura completa si rimanda a Shaw et al., 2015;Marzi & Reimers, 2018): il dato italiano è allarmante, infatti l'Italia si pone al penultimo posto nella classifica generale delle autonomie di spostamento (al pari del Portogallo). ...
Non parlare con gli sconosciuti e non accettare caramelle dalle persone che non conosci”. Queste raccomandazioni le abbiamo ricevute molto spesso, quando chiedevamo ai nostri genitori il permesso di uscire di casa da soli; ma qualcosa è cambiato. Il cambiamento dell’ambiente urbano degli ultimi decenni non solo ha trasformato gli spazi secondo la logica della separazione, della segregazione sociale e della specializzazione, perdendo il suo ruolo di scambio sociale (Bassand, 1995), ma ha alimentato anche le percezioni di paura e di rischio nelle persone. In particolare, la paura degli sconosciuti è la paura sociale maggiormente percepita dalle famiglie ed è usata come strumento difensivo per tutelare i propri/ie figli/ie dai rischi a cui potrebbero andare incontro. Prima di procedere con la descrizione di come queste paure sociali siano diventate un focus specifico di ricerca in relazione al tema dell’autonomia di spostamento infantile, vogliamo stimolare la vostra capacità di osservazione e analisi. Vi siete mai chiesti/e, passeggiando per la città, come mai è sempre più raro vedere bambini e bambine camminare da soli/e o in compagnia di amici e amiche senza la supervisione di una persona adulta? Se vi è capitato di porvi questa domanda allora già siete sulla giusta strada; al contrario, se non ci avete mai riflettuto, potrebbe essere un segnale che il problema della mancata autonomia infantile sta diventando una condizione socialmente accettata.
... Others have argued that the child's psychological well-being is significantly influenced by the child's family and community (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). A comparative study by Shaw et al. (2013) about children's independent mobility between England and German from 1971-2010 summarizes three factors that affect children's independent mobility which is individual factors (e.g. age, gender, etc.), psychosocial factors (e.g. ...
Women have a great significance in their children's lives from the moment they are born. The choice that mothers make regarding their children's mode of travelling to school will have a significant impact on how those children will think about walking and cycling in the future. The purpose of this study is to identify the perspectives of mothers towards allowing their children to school by walking in an area that is deemed suitable for such trip in our discussion on the nation’s future generation towards walking and not depending on private vehicles as the main mode of travelling. A focus group discussion, also known as FGD, took place in Taman Ilmu, which is in Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang. As a result of this study, using thematic analysis to analyse the results of conversation during the FGD session and collective mapping, we discovered four (4) themes of mother’s perspectives towards their children walking to school, which are as follows: (1) confidence and trust; (2) safety; (3) age and gender; and (4) weather. In summary, the built environment can be described as a solution to the 'out of control' scenario in which government and parental roles are effective in resolving the issue of children walking independently to school.
... Aufgrund des Rückgangs der eigenständigen Mobilität von Kindern in den vergangenenJahrzehntenistdie Entwicklung und Implementierung von Interventionen, welche die eigenständige und aktive Mobilität von Kindern fördern, notwendig (Reimers und Marzi 2018). In Deutschland ist die Anzahl der Grundschulkinder, die den Schulweg eigenständig bestreiten, zwischen 1990 und 2010 von 93 % auf 76 % gesunken (Shaw et al. 2013). Ähnliche Trends zeigen sich weltweit auch in anderen Nationen (Reimers und Marzi 2018;Shaw et al. 2015). ...
Zusammenfassung
Nur wenige Kinder erreichen die Bewegungsempfehlungen der Weltgesundheitsorganisation und profitieren von den gesundheitlichen Effekten der körperlichen Aktivität. Die Förderung nicht-organisierter Bewegungsaktivitäten, wie die aktive und eigenständige Mobilität, ist ein relevanter Ansatzpunkt für Interventionen zur Bewegungsförderung bei Kindern im Grundschulalter. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es, hinderliche und förderliche Faktoren für die eigenständige und aktive Mobilität auf dem Schulweg zu identifizieren, aus welchen geeignete Interventionsmaßnahmen abgeleitet werden können.
Im Rahmen der Studie wurden zwölf Grundschulkinder im Alter von acht bis zehn Jahren qualitativ anhand der Photovoice-Methode zu ihrem Schulweg befragt. Basierend auf dem sozial-ökologischen Modell wurden individuelle, soziale und physische Einflussfaktoren aus den Daten extrahiert. Insbesondere die elterliche Erlaubnis, eine mangelnde fahrrad- und fußgängerfreundliche Infrastruktur und rücksichtslose motorisierte Verkehrsteilnehmer*innen hindern Kinder an einem aktiven und eigenständigen Zurücklegen des Schulwegs.
Anhand der Studie wurden vielfältige Faktoren auf unterschiedlichen sozial-ökologischen Ebenen identifiziert, welche in Interventionsmaßnahmen zur Förderung eines aktiven und eigenständigen Schulwegs berücksichtigt werden sollten. Zudem sollten Verbesserungsvorschläge der Grundschüler*innen zur Ermöglichung eines aktiven und eigenständigen Schulwegs in der Stadtplanung und -entwicklung kritisch reflektiert und berücksichtigt werden, um kindgerechte Umwelten zu schaffen.
El presente estudio tiene como objetivo conocer el valor predictivo de la edad, el acompañamiento, y las barreras físicas y psicosociales en el desplazamiento activo. Participaron un total de 1325 estudiantes procedentes de centros educativos de Educación Primaria y Educación Secundaria de la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura (España), con edades comprendidas entre los 10-17 años (M =12.1; DT= 1.60). Los estudiantes cumplimentaron información sobre el modo, distancia, tiempo y acompañamiento a través del cuestionario PACO, y de las barreras percibidas para el desplazamiento activo mediante la escala BATACE. Los resultados revelaron una importante incidencia del acompañamiento, la distancia y las barreras psicosociales percibidas para la realización de desplazamiento activo hacia el colegio (R2 = .53; p = 0.00). Se concluye en la importancia de la distancia hasta el centro educativo, las barreras psicosociales, y el acompañamiento como elementos más importantes en la realización de desplazamiento activo.
A child's independent mobility is essential to their social, emotional physical, and cognitive development and provides children the opportunity to explore and experience their environment. The freedom of free movement and security from all forms of harm is necessary for achieving the capability of bodily integrity which is one of the essential capabilities necessary for well-being. Despite this, research on child independent mobility in Africa remains limited. Hence, this paper focuses on parents' perspectives on children's independent mobility in rural towns in South Africa to understand the factors that enhance or impede children's independent mobility. This is essential in suggesting guidelines and recommendations to promote the independent mobility of children in South Africa. A qualitative methodology was used as the research approach to guide the collection and analysis of the data. Data were collected from a sample of parents in the community and thematically analysed in ATLAS.ti. From this study, it can be noted that parents were not comfortable with the independent movement of their children due to the issues of safety around the community. This led to the restricted movement of children, supervised movements, accompaniment of children to school, and organising transport to ferry children to and from school. This study, therefore, calls for the involvement of stakeholders from various levels to develop and implement strategies to promote safe and child-friendly environments in the community. This is essential in enhancing and restoring a child's independent mobility.
The way we travel, how we travel, whom we travel with and why we travel can change markedly over a lifetime. In this chapter, we examine the varied ways in which everyday mobilities were affected by family responsibilities and personal circumstances as they shifted over the life course. We focus first on those periods of life where mobility is, to some extent, dependent on others. This may include children, the very old, and others who may be excluded from access to independent mobility through poverty, illness, or societal and family restrictions. Mobility may also be restricted for those who take on caring responsibilities, and we examine the ways in which this affected individual lives at different life course stages. Mobility that is not dependent on other family members and related commitments was, and still is, most likely to be experienced by men. We use diary evidence to show the ways in which men negotiated and exercised their mobility freedoms. Finally, we examine those situations where mobility was disrupted temporarily by family commitments, leading to a significant short-term change in the mobility opportunities of some family members.
Es gibt kaum einen Faktor, der den Alltag und die Entwicklung
von Kindern mehr beeinflusst, als die räumliche Gestaltung
des Wohnumfeldes und die damit verbundenen Möglichkeiten
zum „freien Spiel“ und zur eigenständigen Mobilität von
Kindern. Dies ist das zentrale Ergebnis von Studien, die von der
Forschungsgruppe „Raum für Kinderspiel!“ in verschiedenen
Städten durchgeführt wurden. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, welche
zentrale Bedeutung die Gestaltung des urbanen Raums für
Kinder hat. Kommunalstatistik und Stadtforschung können
mit ihren Indikatoren und Berichtssystemen einen wichtigen
Beitrag für eine kinderfreundliche Stadtentwicklung leisten.
The growth in accompanied travel to school, particularly by car, has led to speculation about the cognitive and emotional impact of this change on child development. Spatial skills, knowledge of the environment, and perceptions of the environment were assessed in 93 children aged between 7 and 12 years. Children who were accompanied to school performed as well as their unaccompanied peers on spatial ability tests and showed no greater concern with stranger danger. However, they showed a greater tendency to cite traffic danger in their responses, and a greater knowledge of the environment as indicated by the use of landmarks in their drawings of their locality. Children who had more freedom to travel without adults on nonschool journeys also showed a greater use of landmarks. Mode of transport had no effect on the study's measures. These results are discussed with reference to the nature of the journey to school and to other places.
Walking to school may be an important source of daily physical activity in children's lives, and government agencies are supporting programs to encourage walking to school (e.g., Safe Routes to School and the CDC's KidsWalk programs). However, little research has looked at differences in behavior across racial/ethnic and income groups.
This cross-sectional study used data from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey to document rates of walking and biking to school among low-income and minority youth in the U.S. (N=14,553). Binary models of the decision to use active transport to school were developed to simultaneously adjust for trip, individual, household, and neighborhood correlates. All analyses were conducted in 2007.
The data showed that low-income and minority groups, particularly blacks and Hispanics, use active travel modes to get to school at much higher rates than whites or higher-income students. However, racial variation in travel patterns is removed by controlling for household income, vehicle access, distance between home and school, and residential density.
Active transportation to school may be an important strategy to increase and maintain physical activity levels for low-income and minority youth. Current policy interventions such as Safe Routes to School have the opportunity to provide benefits for low-income and minority students who are the most likely to walk to school.
The study focuses on the independent travel opportunities of children in Canberra, a low-density Australian city. The use of a methodology developed in previous research on children's independent mobility in England and Germany facilitated comparisons with these countries. Differences in levels of this mobility were observed between schools in Canberra, England and Germany. Some explanations for these differences are offered. The discussion includes an explanation of how levels of children's independent mobility are affected by the dominance of the motor vehicle in the development of a low-density city.