Next Wednesday, students at Cooperstown Elementary School will join children around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day.

We applaud the efforts of the PTO and the village's Pedestrian Safety Committee to teach kids the benefits of walking and exercise at an early age.

It was just a few weeks ago that we wrote an editorial on federally legislated ``District Wellness Policies'' designed to promote student wellness.

The Walk to School day next week fits in nicely with the district's goal of encouraging more physical activity among students.

As we know, the younger we begin healthy habits _ like walking whenever possible rather than driving _ the more likely they are to stick with us for the rest of our lives.

The PTO and the Safety Committee will make the day fun for the students, complete with song singing and signs.

The event will also include lessons on teaching safe walking skills to children and raising awareness for Cooperstown as a walkable community.

A few years back, Cooperstown's Brenda Berstler did her part for the adults in Cooperstown by founding We-Go, a non-profit organization encouraging walking and walkable communities.

While that organization has been a success, starting kids walking at a young age is even more important.

Veronica Schmer, a pediatric cardiologist with Bassett Hospital and a member of the committee which drafted Cooperstown's wellness policy said community-wide fights are needed to battle obesity in children.

Parents should continue the battle in other ways by choosing nutritious meals and encouraging their children to get involved with some form of physical activity three to four days a week, preferably one that can be done year-round.

And in this day of PlayStations and Xboxes, kids themselves must find the time and motivation to turn off their TVs for a few hours and head outside or to the gym for a quality cardiovascular workout.

We applaud the organizations who are sponsoring Wednesday's event, and hope to see more events in the months and years to come.