With childhood obesity rising and inactivity being blamed, now is a great time to get your kids moving around and improving their fitness.

William Prendergast is Travelwise manager at Wiltshire County Council. He said: "In Wiltshire we promote walk to school directly in schools by incentive based reward schemes for pupils who walk eight or nine Wednesdays per term. Class teachers record how the pupils travel on a class wall chart, then give the info to Travelwise at Wiltshire County council at the end of term.

"Children are getting less and less exercise, and are becoming more obese. Children all to often do not get a choice about whether to walk - they are packed into the car for convenience of the parent. This denies them exercise - walking to school every day gives kids better exercise than the equivalent of two hours of weekly PE.

"By being walked to school by a parent or carer, primary aged children can get road safety skills from them, plus the experience of walking along roads in a controlled way.

"Walking buses offer this too, and take the burden off parents by only requiring a parent to do the school walk on a rota basis.

Walking builds up a child's social and independence skills, and gives their self-esteem a real boost. It is also proven that walkers arrive alert and ready for lessons compared to those coming by car who are still waking up.

"If the school is within one mile, walking or cycling must be the only option. For one to two miles, it should also be highly advisable, but if parents must drive, they should ensure that they car share with other families, then park about half a mile away in a convenient safe place like a supermarket, pub, or village hall car park. "Many schools have travel plans where suggested parking places will be identified and where agreement with the car park owners is obtained already.

"Parents can also help schools develop and implement travel plans which set out ways that walking and cycling will be encouraged. This includes changing hearts and minds of individuals and the school as a whole, as well as securing funds from Wiltshire County Council for safer routes to school.

"Wiltshire County Council Road Safety uses parent volunteers to provide pedestrian training for five to seven-year-olds." Visit www.walktoschool.org.uk for more ideas on how to get your kids active, plus more information about the Walk to School scheme.

Three top tips to get your kids active:

1. Walk to school at least part of the way, and if everyday is a struggle, try gradually once or twice a week

2. Walk for other short trips that you make together at other times, e.g. to get the Sunday paper, to go to the shop for last minute items, or to the sports centre.

3. Visit the local sports centre or youth group and get involved.