Children’s travel behaviour and its health implications

Children’s travel behaviour varies from that of adults in several ways: they have less choice about where they go and often they are not allowed to travel unescorted by an older person. The factors that influence children’s travel behaviour have changed in recent years, with the development of car-oriented lifestyles, increased numbers of mothers in employment and changes in attitudes towards children’s independent mobility. The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of children’s travel behaviour and its implications for their volumes of physical activity and so for their health. After considering the nature of children’s travel behaviour and the factors that influence it, the effects of children’s travel behaviour on their volumes of physical activity are discussed; then some measures being adopted in Britain to reverse the adverse trends are described. Conclusions are drawn in terms of the policy implications.