Anne Cronin: Limerick has a long way to go to become a child-friendly city

Becoming a child-friendly city is not all about big municipal budgets and infrastructure but reimagining what you have — such as a ramp to allow children to safely cycle to school.

The Limerick Cycle Bus, a group of parents and kids who cycle together to school for safety, at the Treaty Stone in Limerick last summer. The cycle bus movement has taken off in Ireland.

In the most recent UNICEF Report Card that looked at what shapes children’s wellbeing, Ireland is ranked 12th of 38 'rich countries'.  However, on life satisfaction for children aged 15, a key indicator in the report, Ireland drops to 25th, with other worrying figures including 31% of children aged 5-19 being overweight or obese and the percentage of girls in Ireland unhappy with their body image being one of the highest in Europe.

Routinely children across the country are being sent home with hi-vis jackets in their bags along with the latest RSA badge/bike light/quiz in wearisome efforts to get them walking and cycling to school. These active travel promotional campaigns do little to advance children becoming more active — clearly evidenced by the falling numbers of children actively travelling to school.