60% of under-12s driven to school, finds study

Most Irish children are driven to school, figures show, with a massive increase in those being shuttled to classes in the past 25 years.

The proportion of Irish children aged between five and 12 being driven to school increased from 26% in 1986 to 61% in 2011.

A study co-ordinated by the CSO reveals that Irish school-going children of all ages are increasingly reliant on motorised transport.

In what is termed Ireland’s sustainable development indicators for 2013, the CSO study shows the proportion of children aged from 13 to 18 going to school as car passengers rose from 11% to 40% over the same period.

Taken together with the results for younger schoolchildren, this reveals that the percentage of children from age five to 18 who are driven to school exceeds 50%.

This follows a recent survey by the Irish Universities Nutritional Alliance which shows that fewer than 1% of Irish children cycle to school. According to their study, 70% are driven to school even though they live less than a mile away. The IUNA survey was carried out over a 12-month period and involved almost 600 children, aged five to 12.

It has also been revealed that driving your youngsters to class could also cause their academic work to suffer. Researchers in Denmark found that children who were driven to school, or who took public transport, had poorer concentration levels than those who took a more active route such as walking or cycling.

The study found that regular exercise could advance a student up to half a year in their studies.

Children who were driven to school, or who took public transport, performed less well in a test measuring concentration levels, than those who had walked or cycled. The results surprised researchers, as they had focused on the effects of eating breakfast and lunch on pupils’ ability to concentrate.

“The exercise one uses to transport oneself to school is reflected in the level of concentration one has circa four hours later,” Niels Egelund, a co-author of the report, told news agency AFP.

“The results showed that having breakfast and lunch has an impact, but not very much compared to having exercised.”