What would it take for you to carve time out of your hectic schedule to walk your children to school? Granted, if you live 10 miles from your child’s kindergarten class, walking is simply not feasible. However, there are millions of families around the world who live within walking distance of schools yet they still opt to bypass this money-saving, environmentally practical option.
That might soon change in places like England where the government is providing incentives to parents to spend more time with their children by walking them to school. According to news reports, walking children to school could soon become another source of income for parents in the U.K.
Under the new plan, which is designed to foster boding between child and parent while promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing childhood obesity, the government would issue vouchers to parents to purchase food and sports equipment. Government officials say more than 12,000 businesses, charities and local groups have signed up to help promote the new campaign. In addition, the program includes “unprecedented” agreements with two popular grocery stores to provide discounts on healthier food choices.
“Ten million people visit their corner shops every day and 36 million shop at Asda and Tesco each week – the fact that grocers and supermarkets are on board means we can really influence what goes into our shopping trolleys,” said Health Secretary Alan Johnson. “It’s unprecedented for supermarkets to join the government and pledge to cut prices on healthy food.”
But some critics aren’t buying the hoopla. Opponents of the new initiative claim the rewards are a form of bribery and that parents shouldn’t need to be paid to promote healthy living in their homes.
What do you make of the new program? Do you think a similar plan would succeed in the United States?
More importantly, when was the last time you walked your child to school (for you parents who have that option)? Did you find the stroll was productive, or was it something you tried once and vowed never to do again?
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