Mum putting pedal power into routine

Incorporating physical exercise into daily life is a lesson Steff Kidd hopes will be learned by the children in her care and the adults in their lives.

The Porse programme tutor has pimped out her bike for next week's Rotorua Bike Festival, which coincides with five visits to in-home carers she will make.

Mrs Kidd, who is a mother of three, would normally use her own car to drive between the Porse office on Amohau St and the five homes she is due to visit, but because February is Bikewise month and the bike festival is on the same week as the visits, she realised she could set a good example.

"I want to show the children you can incorporate exercise into your daily life," Mrs Kidd said.

"It creates a message to my educators that you can carry on with everyday life while including physical exercise. It's a lifestyle choice but also role modelling to children and educators."

She started her new cycling regime by riding with her son Lockie, 5, to school on the first day of term and has already received lots of positive feedback.

"Something as simple as that puts that awareness out there. Who knows, it might get other parents taking them out on their bikes. I've had parents ask me if I'm still going to do my visits if it's raining - I've got a raincoat and my kids play in the rain."

Her in-home visits are on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week. She has two in-home carers on Clayton Rd, and one each in Pukehangi Rd, Central and Lynmore. Each visit involves a trip back to the Porse office to collect new resources for the educators. She said she might have extra homes to visit with new educators coming on board.

On Monday and Tuesday she has children in her care and she said she will try to incorporate exercise into their learning. This includes the Porse Bike-a-Thon, which is happening at the Porse Playschool on Tuesday. The children will be taking their bikes to the playschool and a bike track will be set up.

She said anyone who saw her out and about on her Porse bike could collect a small prize by visiting the office.