How many of us dread doing the school run every day, sitting in slow-moving traffic, listening to the little darlings playing up in the back of the car and trying to keep our stress levels to a minimum?

Wouldn't it be nice just to spend some quality time chatting to the children instead of playing referee to their impression of World War Three or yelling at the driver in front?

According to a survey carried out by Transport for London, nearly three-quarters of parents in London believe that walking to school would allow them to spend more time with their children and be much less stressful than trying to negotiate the morning rush-hour in a car. Despite this, out of those who currently drive to school, 50 per cent admit that they live within walking distance of the school. Walking to school can be a great way to reconnect with your children, take some time to just chat and make sure they're getting some regular exercise, all at the same time.

Even if you live too far from the school to walk all the way, driving part of the way and walking the rest will still give you a chance to get some exercise and help to keep the area around the school clear of cars, reducing the road safety risks. For younger children, walking to school can be a good opportunity to teach them about road safety, but it can also be a great time to learn about other things along your route, such as local history, plants and wildlife.

Of couse, walking your children to school is not always an option for many working parents, so lots of areas have 'walking bus' schemes which allow children to walk to school accompanied by adult volunteers to keep them safe. The 'bus' takes the same route each day and stops at regular places.

If you want to know more, visit the web sites www.walktoschool.org or www.walkingbus.com