Now the girls are in the habit of cycling, I wouldn\u2019t change it for the world.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Learning road skills<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"Child](\"https:\/\/www.cyclox.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Learning-to-ride-CREDIT-Zuhura-Plummer-300x242.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSamita\u2019s youngest, Soraya, who is seven, was taught to ride a bike off road, by School Streets <\/a>volunteers at St Ebbes. When she could manage cycling well, she was taught a route from her house to the school. She negotiates this ten-minute bike ride from home, near Donnington Bridge, carefully and competently. Cycling alongside some other kids and one parent, they use the crossing on the Abingdon Road and then take quieter back streets the rest of the way. As I cycled close behind her one wintery evening, with her lights and little helmet shining brightly, I noticed how she recognises give-way lines, road signs and junctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSamita continues: \u2018Soraya knows what is going on \u2013 she looks around, she\u2019s cautious, and she\u2019s really good at riding. I feel like she is better off knowing how cars and streets work. Loads of kids now don\u2019t have a clue and then suddenly are allowed out as teenagers and they don\u2019t know a thing because they\u2019ve been taken in the car every day.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m inclined to agree. It\u2019s a huge benefit to kids to learn and practise the basics of road safety. It\u2019s all very well being taught, but actually using the skills \u2013 supervised until needed \u2013 brings another level of understanding that they\u2019ll have for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThree quarters of children biked or walked to school in 1975, but now only half do. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
This adds up to a lot of young adults who have been ferried around and so will have less intuition and spatial awareness when negotiating traffic, and life in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A win-win for kids\u2019 health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cycling to school is a bit of a silver bullet for ki<\/a>ds<\/a>. They move and exercise, it\u2019s time when they can\u2019t<\/em> be in front of a screen, they see nature and the seasons changing, and they interact with adults and their own friends, forming social skills. They arrive at school better able to concentrate and learn, and the benefit of getting there actively is even more pronounced in kids with additional needs. According to one study, a 20-minute walk works wonders for kids with ADHD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSamita\u2019s youngest, Soraya, who is seven, was taught to ride a bike off road, by School Streets <\/a>volunteers at St Ebbes. When she could manage cycling well, she was taught a route from her house to the school. She negotiates this ten-minute bike ride from home, near Donnington Bridge, carefully and competently. Cycling alongside some other kids and one parent, they use the crossing on the Abingdon Road and then take quieter back streets the rest of the way. As I cycled close behind her one wintery evening, with her lights and little helmet shining brightly, I noticed how she recognises give-way lines, road signs and junctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Samita continues: \u2018Soraya knows what is going on \u2013 she looks around, she\u2019s cautious, and she\u2019s really good at riding. I feel like she is better off knowing how cars and streets work. Loads of kids now don\u2019t have a clue and then suddenly are allowed out as teenagers and they don\u2019t know a thing because they\u2019ve been taken in the car every day.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m inclined to agree. It\u2019s a huge benefit to kids to learn and practise the basics of road safety. It\u2019s all very well being taught, but actually using the skills \u2013 supervised until needed \u2013 brings another level of understanding that they\u2019ll have for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three quarters of children biked or walked to school in 1975, but now only half do. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This adds up to a lot of young adults who have been ferried around and so will have less intuition and spatial awareness when negotiating traffic, and life in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cycling to school is a bit of a silver bullet for ki<\/a>ds<\/a>. They move and exercise, it\u2019s time when they can\u2019t<\/em> be in front of a screen, they see nature and the seasons changing, and they interact with adults and their own friends, forming social skills. They arrive at school better able to concentrate and learn, and the benefit of getting there actively is even more pronounced in kids with additional needs. According to one study, a 20-minute walk works wonders for kids with ADHD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
A win-win for kids\u2019 health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n