Children's Independent Mobility Research Articles

‘Walking … just walking’: how children and young people's everyday pedestrian practices matter

This paper considers the importance of walking for many children and young people's everyday lives, experiences and friendships. Drawing upon research with 175 9- to 16-year-olds living in new urban developments in south-east England, we highlight key characteristics of (daily, taken-for-granted, ostensibly aimless) walking practices, which were of constitutive importance in children and young people's friendships, communities and geographies. These practices were characteristically bounded, yet intense and circuitous. They were vivid, vital, loved, playful, social experiences yet also dismissed, with a shrug, as ‘just walking’. We argue that ‘everyday pedestrian practices’ (after Middleton 2010, 2011) like these require critical reflection upon chief social scientific theorisations of walking, particularly the large body of literature on children's independent mobility and the rich, multi-disciplinary line of work known as ‘new walking studies’. In arguing that these lines of work could be productively interrelated, we propound ‘just walking’—particularly the often-unremarked way it matters—as a kind of phenomenon which is sometimes done a disservice by chief lines of theory and practice in social and cultural geography.

A comparison study of children's independent mobility in England and Australia

We compared independent mobility (freedom to move around the neighbourhood – or similar – without adult accompaniment) among English and Australian schoolchildren. Parents reported mobility licences granted to their children (e.g. allowing them to cross main roads alone) and accompaniment on local trips. Children reported travel mode to school. We examined associations between mobility licences and independent school journeys, and accompaniment on local trips. Among 10–12-year-olds, English children had more licences than Australian children. Mobility licences were directly associated with independent school journeys among primary but not among secondary schoolchildren who travelled further; and inversely associated with parental accompaniment to other destinations. Influences on parental restrictions should be examined to promote children's independent mobility.

Will you escort your child to school? The effect of spatial and temporal constraints of parental employment

Children's independent mobility in many urban areas in the United States has been in decline. This implies that children's out-of-home travel involves the company of adults more often than before. This need requires parents to seek ways to balance work-family life. This study examines the factors that influence a parent-child joint trip to school in dual-earner households, with special consideration given to parental work arrangements and location, which act as intra-household temporal and spatial constraints. The study is carried out in the five-county Los Angeles region, drawing from household travel diaries from the 2001 Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Post Census Regional Household Travel Survey. The results show that parental employment, especially the mother's, is a very important factor influencing the probability of a joint trip to school. In terms of temporal constraints, longer working hours will reduce the likelihood that a child will be escorted by its parents. However, the option of flexible work hours offsets the negative effect of long working hours by offering a higher degree of scheduling flexibility. In terms of spatial constraints, the closer the mother's workplace is to the school, the more likely it is that the child will be escorted by the parents. This research provides important evidence that a child's joint trip is heavily influenced by the parents' work schedule and location. The findings shed light on how the provision of certain employment policies and programs may affect joint trips to school.

New Zealand parents' understandings of the intergenerational decline in children's independent outdoor play and active travel

Children's independent mobility and physical activity levels are declining in Western countries. In the past 20 years New Zealand children's active travel (walking and cycling) has dropped on average from 130 to 72 minutes per week, and those travelling by car to school have increased from 31% to 58%. This paper describes parents' understandings of why 9–11-year-old primary school children in suburban Auckland are less likely to walk to school and play unsupervised outdoors than they were as children. Data gathered in focus groups show understandings range from proximate neighbourhood explanations to downstream impacts of a neoliberal policy context.

Associations of children's independent mobility and active travel with physical activity, sedentary behaviour and weight status: A systematic review

Health benefits from children's independent mobility and active travel beyond school travel are largely unexplored. This review synthesized the evidence for associations of independent mobility and active travel to various destinations with physical activity, sedentary behaviour and weight status. Systematic review. A systematic search in six databases (PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, SportDiscus, PsychInfo, TRIS) for papers published between January 1990 and March 2012 was undertaken, focussing on children aged 3-18 years. Study inclusion and methodological quality were independently assessed by two reviewers. 52 studies were included. Most studies focussed solely on active travel to and/or from school, and showed significant positive associations with physical activity. The same relationship was detected for active travel to leisure-related places and independent mobility with physical activity. An inverse relationship between active travel to school and weight status was evident but findings were inconsistent. Few studies examined correlations between active travel to school and self-reported screen-time or objectively measured sedentary behaviour, and findings were unclear. Studies on independent mobility suggested that children who have the freedom to play outdoors and travel actively without adult supervision accumulate more physical activity than those who do not. Further investigation of children's active travel to leisure-related destinations, measurement of diverse sedentary behaviour beyond simply screen-based activities, and consistent thresholds for objectively measured sedentary behaviour in children will clarify the inconsistent evidence base on associations of active travel with sedentary behaviour and weight status.

Dog ownership, dog walking and children's independent mobility

Introduction: Dog ownership is a catalyst for physical activity in adults. Given 60–80% of Australian and US households with children have a dog, dog-facilitated physical activity may be an effective way to increase children's physical activity. Few studies have examined the relationship between dog ownership and children's physical activity. Importantly, the relationship between dog walking and children's independent mobility has not been investigated. This study aimed to: 1) examine the association between dog walking, physical activity and walking in children and 2) examine if children who report walking their dog are more independently mobile than those who do not walk their dog.

Using travel diaries for measuring children's independent mobility and active travel–Examples and experiences

Introduction: Travel diaries are increasingly being used to measure children's independent mobility (IM) and active travel (AT). However, the methodological procedures and challenges of collecting travel diary data from children are usually not reported in papers.

The influence of ethnicity on children's independent mobility

Introduction: Independent mobility (unsupervised play and travel) is an integral component of physical activity. The Kids in the City (KITC) study is investigating family and neighbourhood influences on the independent mobility and physical activity of children 9–11 years living in six suburban neighbourhoods in Auckland, New Zealand. A mixed methods approach has been used to collect quantitative (GPS, accelerometer, travel diaries) and qualitative (go along interviews) data from children. Parents’ role as ‘gatekeeper’ to their children's independent mobility and physical activity has been examined through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) and focus group discussions.

Young and free? A study of children's independent mobility in urban and rural Australia

Young and free? A study of children's independent mobility in urban and rural Australia

The implications of children's travel behaviour for their physical activity

Walking and cycling by children have decreased over time in many countries. Children have less choice than adults 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 presentation is to examine the nature of children's travel behaviour in Britain and its implications for their volumes of physical activity.

Public knowing of risk and children's independent mobility

Risk is major factor that influences parent decision-making about whether they let their children go places by themselves. However, there is a paucity of research about how risk is conceived. This paper presents research that identified parents’, local government general managers’, and regulatory document conceptions about different dimensions of risk, and how these may be influenced by worry and expert knowledge. These dimensions included views on the environment, children's competence, probability of adverse situations occurring, number and potential long-term impacts if adverse situations were encountered. The research also examined how the views of parents, local government general managers, and regulatory documents interacted to create a public knowing of risk that limits children's independent mobility (CIM). The results indicate that children had limited independent mobility. This was supported by narrow views of children's places and promotion of adult surveillance. Parents were more concerned about externally imposed situations representing deliberate harm by others rather than everyday type situations. Parents’ views were reflected by a variety of regulatory documents that positioned children as vulnerable to many adverse situations leading to potential longterm damage. While, general managers thought children should be permitted to use public space by themselves, they balanced their views with perceptions of parent and community tolerance for children in public space, and the regulatory environment in which they worked. Fieldwork was conducted in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It comprised a questionnaire completed by 160 parents, interviews with three general managers, and analysis of 237 regulatory documents from multiple levels of government.

Young and free? A study of independent mobility among urban and rural dwelling Australian children

ObjectivesTo examine urban/rural differences in children's independent mobility; associations between mobility licences and children's independent mobility; and potential correlates of mobility licences. DesignCross-sectional study of 430 primary (48% boys; 72% urban) and 258 secondary schoolchildren (52% boys; 51.6% urban) and their parents. MethodsParents survey reported the mobility licences they granted to their children (e.g. allowing them to cross main roads on their own), access to outdoor playspaces and mobile phone ownership. Children survey reported their independent mobility on school journeys and on weekends. Differences were examined in mobility licences and independent mobility by sex, urban/rural setting and age-group. Regression analyses examined associations between mobility licences and independent mobility; and how access to playspaces, and mobile phone ownership, were associated with mobility licences. ResultsOverall, on average, boys were granted more mobility licences, than were girls, but there were no significant differences by urban/rural location. Variations in independent mobility by urban/rural locality were identified on the school journey but not on weekends. Boys attending urban primary schools had highest rates (44%) of walking/cycling independently to school; those attending rural secondary schools had the lowest (14%). Among urban boys and rural primary school-aged girls access to outdoor playspaces was associated with mobility licences. Mobile phone ownership was associated with mobility licences only among boys attending urban primary schools. ConclusionsMany Australian children in urban and rural areas lack independent mobility. Further research should examine social/physical environmental influences on parental restrictions, to inform interventions that aim to promote children's independent mobility.

On children's independent mobility: the interplay of demographic, environmental, and psychosocial factors

In the past 50 years, a marked reduction has occurred in European and North American children's freedom of movement and outdoor play. Using a structural equation model, the present study investigates the interaction between personal, environmental, and psychosocial factors that affect children's independent mobility. The study involved 313 mothers of 8–10-year-old Italian children. The results supported the hypothesized model: the age of the child, the maternal perception of social danger, and positive potentiality of outdoor autonomy were the most influential variables on children's independent mobility, measured as an index. Further, the maternal perceptions mediated the influence of the other demographic, psychosocial, and environmental variables on independent mobility.

Kids in the city study: research design and methodology.

BackgroundPhysical activity is essential for optimal physical and psychological health but substantial declines in children's activity levels have occurred in New Zealand and internationally. Children's independent mobility (i.e., outdoor play and traveling to destinations unsupervised), an integral component of physical activity in childhood, has also declined radically in recent decades. Safety-conscious parenting practices, car reliance and auto-centric urban design have converged to produce children living increasingly sedentary lives. This research investigates how urban neighborhood environments can support or enable or restrict children's independent mobility, thereby influencing physical activity accumulation and participation in daily life.Methods/DesignThe study is located in six Auckland, New Zealand neighborhoods, diverse in terms of urban design attributes, particularly residential density. Participants comprise 160 children aged 9-11 years and their parents/caregivers. Objective measures (global positioning systems, accelerometers, geographical information systems, observational audits) assessed children's independent mobility and physical activity, neighborhood infrastructure, and streetscape attributes. Parent and child neighborhood perceptions and experiences were assessed using qualitative research methods.DiscussionThis study is one of the first internationally to examine the association of specific urban design attributes with child independent mobility. Using robust, appropriate, and best practice objective measures, this study provides robust epidemiological information regarding the relationships between the built environment and health outcomes for this population.

Children's Independent Mobility and Perceptions of Outdoor Environments in Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania

This article discusses children's independent mobility (CIM) in Dar es Salaam City. Children's independent mobility refers to the freedom of those under 18 years old to move around in public outdoor environments without adult accompaniment. A number of studies have shown that the neighbourhood environment can be extremely important in enabling children to attain recommended levels of physical activity; the more time children are able to spend in a public outdoor environment the more they are likely to be physically active. Such studies have influenced how researchers measure children mobility, safety, development and well-being. Studies of CIM and related subjects are very important in Africa. Local conditions in support of walking and cycling are poor, which impacts on children's access to education. The study reported here involved the collection of quantitative and qualitative data through the administration of questionnaires completed by both school children aged 7–15 years old, and their parents or guardians. The main focus of this article is on the difference age and gender have on children's independent mobility, children's independent mobility after school hours and during the weekend, and on parents' perception of public outdoor environments. The article concludes with a summary of study findings and policies aimed at improving children's independent mobility and safety and security in public outdoor environments.

Changing Global Childhoods: The Impact on Children's Independent Mobility

This special edition of Global Studies of Childhood reports on the global research currently under way to replicate the original seminal work by Mayer Hillman on children's independent mobility that was conducted in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, and which was replicated in the United Kingdom and Germany in the 1990s (Hillman et al, 1990) and is now being revisited in 20 culturally diverse countries. The opportunity for children to move freely in the environment without an accompanying adult is defined in the literature as children's independent mobility or CIM (Hillman et al, 1990; Tranter & Whitelegg 1994). CIM is measured in terms of spatial range or roaming range, and this measure can be determined by parents or caregivers in terms of the boundaries they set or through a negotiation between children, parents or caregivers and even the community. Children's spatial range may change according to a child's maturation, health and cultural background, social and cultural influences in parenting styles and boundary making (often influenced by issues of safety and risk), physical attributes of the environment and differences in the role of the community as ‘loco parentis' and on the role children are purported to have in terms of being socially determinant. The research project that the four countries reported on in this special issue, namely Australia, Japan, South Africa and Tanzania, have participated in had two main aims. The first aim was to provide a national and international comparison of children's and parents' views of the independent mobility of children aged 7–15 years from a variety of social and cultural contexts by contributing to and building on the original seminal study (Hillman et al, 1990). It also provided the opportunity for general historical comparisons with original research that was collected using the same or similar questionnaires over the past 20 years. In the article written by Rudner & Malone on CIM in Australia, for example, a comparison is being made with the work of Tranter, from the early 1990s, with schools in similar localities (Tranter & Whitelegg 1994). Finally, the focus was to explore how CIM varies internationally, and to identify the factors affecting CIM and the implications this may have for children's lives. This final aim is particularly important as most of the research on CIM has been conducted in western industrialised nations (for instance, two recent publications by Freeman & Tranter [2011] and Fyhri et al [2011] report almost exclusively on studies in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) and therefore provides a very limited perspective of what is prioritised as the important debates, key trends and issues being purported globally around CIM.

Linking GPS and travel diary data using sequence alignment in a study of children's independent mobility

BackgroundGlobal positioning systems (GPS) are increasingly being used in health research to determine the location of study participants. Combining GPS data with data collected via travel/activity diaries allows researchers to assess where people travel in conjunction with data about trip purpose and accompaniment. However, linking GPS and diary data is problematic and to date the only method has been to match the two datasets manually, which is time consuming and unlikely to be practical for larger data sets. This paper assesses the feasibility of a new sequence alignment method of linking GPS and travel diary data in comparison with the manual matching method.MethodsGPS and travel diary data obtained from a study of children's independent mobility were linked using sequence alignment algorithms to test the proof of concept. Travel diaries were assessed for quality by counting the number of errors and inconsistencies in each participant's set of diaries. The success of the sequence alignment method was compared for higher versus lower quality travel diaries, and for accompanied versus unaccompanied trips. Time taken and percentage of trips matched were compared for the sequence alignment method and the manual method.ResultsThe sequence alignment method matched 61.9% of all trips. Higher quality travel diaries were associated with higher match rates in both the sequence alignment and manual matching methods. The sequence alignment method performed almost as well as the manual method and was an order of magnitude faster. However, the sequence alignment method was less successful at fully matching trips and at matching unaccompanied trips.ConclusionsSequence alignment is a promising method of linking GPS and travel diary data in large population datasets, especially if limitations in the trip detection algorithm are addressed.

Global Perspectives on Children's Independent Mobility: A Socio-Cultural Comparison and Theoretical Discussion of Children's Lives in Four Countries in Asia and Africa

The article provides a comparative analysis of children's independent mobility in four countries – South Africa, Tanzania, Japan and Australia. The authors discuss key findings across the four study sites and illustrate the contextually bound nuances connected to the data at the community level. The data illustrate that while Japanese children have the most independence generally, Japanese children who live in a small town outside of a main city centre have significantly lower mobility than their city counterparts, and levels of car use for driving children to school are similar to levels in Australia. The results also reveal that while children in South Africa generally look to be more independent, have fewer restrictions and are accompanied less by parents than children in Australia (which appears to have the highest rate of accompaniment), the community-wide data illustrate that children living in the high-income city communities have the least amount of independence of all sites in the four countries, with travel to school by car as high as 87%. Additionally, the research illustrates that age is not a clear determinant of a growing increase in independence and mobility in communities. An inspection of the data reveals possibilities for considering the heterogeneous perspective of childhood where the intersection of children's locales and how children traverse them is as significant as the aggregated data that provide universal notions of the childhood experience. The final discussions provide some opportunities to consider Prout's introduction of a life course approach for reconceptualising children and childhood, which he believes allows for a multiplicity and complexity of childhoods. This concept is seen to be helpful when considering how to include global perspectives in children's independent mobility without universalising children's life experience.

Childhood in the Suburbs and the Australian Dream: How Has it Impacted Children's Independent Mobility?

This article presents the research results from a study conducted in New South Wales, Australia about primary school children's independent mobility (CIM), their concerns, and the concerns of their parents. These results are compared with a similar study conducted in 1992. Data were collected using written questionnaires, one for children and one for their parents, distributed via three primary schools. The key findings indicate that school travel has not substantially changed over the past 18 years, although there has been a slight mode shift from walking to school bus travel. Children would like to engage in active transport and have more freedom to do other activities on their own; however, parents restricted CIM based on age, and concerns about traffic and strangers. Although there were localised differences in the survey results, it is hard to determine what influence these factors had on CIM.

Danger from Traffic to Fear of Monkeys: Children's Independent Mobility in Four Diverse Sites in Japan

The study reported on in this article was based on a study of children's independent mobility in four different areas in Japan. Interviews were given to the head principals of the sampled schools, and the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) members, and questionnaires were sent to a total of 530 children aged 7–15 years and their parents. These were conducted in order to obtain information regarding the possibilities for children to engage in independent mobility within a variety of community settings. The findings showed that many young children in Japan are allowed by their parents to travel to and from school alone. The older the children were the more they were granted many varied licenses and freedoms for independent mobility. However, a change in children's attitudes toward the home-school journey was identified in this study. While it is a common norm in Japan that children should go to school on foot or by public transportation, the findings showed that some children have started to rely on private cars as the main transportation to travel to and return from school. In particular this was evident with children who live in small towns and rural areas. This study reveals that in a diverse geographical environment, the extent to which Japanese children can engage in independent mobility is varied. Overall, for children living in the capital city of Tokyo it appears they have more freedom to engage in independent mobility than their counterparts in suburban, small town and rural areas.