Stranger Danger,Cell Phones,Traffic,and Active Travel to and from Schools: Perceptions of Parents and Children

Abstract

This paper summarizes one-on-one interviews with parents and their middle school children to identify similarities and differences in parents’ and children’s perceptions of the environment that surrounds travel to and from school, how these perceptions form, and how they influence travel mode choice to and from school. Forty-eight interviews were conducted with parent–child pairs in three New Jersey communities. In particular, the interviews examined active travel modes, such as walking and bicycling, to and from school. Direct communication with parents and students allowed for a thick description of perspectives and concerns. Analysis of qualitative data showed differences in adult versus child perceptions and the emergence of several themes related to the environment and children’s capacity for independence. Themes included differences in comfort with solo travel, which depended on time of day, parental concern with abductions and sexual offenders, common use of cell phones and GPS technology to address safety fears, and perceptions with respect to the safety of travel modes on the basis of gender. Implications for practice included the support of opportunities for children to walk in groups, such as the designation of meet-up locations, where students could gather without parental accompaniment, and the encouragement of Walk to School and Walk from School days to help parents and students become comfortable with walking trips. To help children attain the benefits of active travel, schools and communities also could provide skills-based education on personal safety and could identify safe areas, where students could go if problems arose.