Active commuting to early childhood education and care institutions among toddlers (2-3 years)

Little is known about the modes of active commuting to and from school(ACS) in toddlers (2-3 years old). The aims of the present study arethreefold: (a) to describe the modes of transport to and from earlychildhood education and care (ECEC) institutions in toddlers; (b) toanalyze the role of different barriers and neighbourhood characteristics,as perceived by parents, in ACS; and (c) to examine the contribution ofACS on levels of PA. Parents provided written input through aquestionnaire about the modes of transport to school they use withtheir young children, the weekly use-frequency of each mode, as well asthe barriers they perceived to walking or riding a bike to ECECinstitutions. The final sample consisted of 154 young children fromValencia (Spain). In a randomly selected subsample of 44 children, PAwas measured using accelerometers. Cars and strollers were the mostcommon modes of transport in toddlers. Perceived distance to schoolwas negatively correlated to ACS, whereas parents' perceptions aroundplanning/psychosocial barriers was also negatively associated with ACS.There was a significant and positive association between ACS and totalPA. However, ACS contributes positively to toddlers' overall PA levels.This study provides information about planning/psychosocial barriers assignificant predictors of ACS in toddlers.