Walking to school every day used to be a rite of passage for every child. Nobody worried about whether they could or would get there. It was assumed they would trudge through all manner of weather-related obstacles to find refuge, friends and a dry desk in the classroom.

Today, it's a different story.

More than half of students are driven to school, no matter what the weather. Snow days are called not because of teachers — they're still expected to show up for class — but because parents, driving cars without snow tires on un-plowed streets, are a danger to themselves and others.

Walking to school on a regular basis is now, especially for elementary school children, an effort that requires stamina, will-power and co-ordination to get children and their boots, umbrellas, rain coats and backpacks out the door for the 10-minute trek to the neighbourhood school. With many parents working, only the committed can undertake such a task on a regular basis.

The end result is a generation of kids who believe a car, not two legs, is the only way to get around. Soon, they and their parents will get a wake-up call.

Concern about high gas prices, greenhouse gases and the scary thought that our children will be heavier and less fit than their parents' generation, along with time-strapped school administrators who don't have time to police traffic, will pressure us into finding ways to let our children walk to school more often.

But it won't be easy. Parents aren't going to to let their children walk to school alone, or unaccompanied by a safe adult, given traffic, distractions and other dangers, nor do they have 10 minutes twice a day to drop off and pick up their kids — the reality of the work-a-day world won't let them. It will, therefore, be the job of committed parents, school administrators and city politicians to find ways to make walking to school safe and easy, and to get driving parents on side.

This week, many schools across the district are doing just that, organizing walking school buses and hosting breakfasts and other events to get parents and kids walking.

No one is naive enough to expect parents to stop driving but the connections that will be made this week should at least get parents to start thinking about options, such as finding ways to share the joy of walking to school with kids.

To that end, this year's International Walk to School Day (today, Oct. 8) the slogan should be "It's time to spare the road and share the walk."

The Tri-City News