Have you ever wondered how many steps you take in a day? The answer isn’t obvious. You might run all over a soccer field for an hour, then sit and eat a snack the next. And you sit around more on a rainy day than a sunny one. Even so, scientists have found that healthy kids take about 9,000 steps a day. So what does that come to in a year — or your whole life so far?
Wee ones: If you step with your left foot, then your right foot, then your left, then your right…how many steps have you taken?
Little kids: If you took 9 thousand steps yesterday and 7 thousand today, on which day did you take more? Bonus: If you take 2,000 steps each day, how many do you take in 5 weekdays? Add up the thousands!
Big kids: If you take a whole 10,000 steps a day, how many does that come to in 1 365-day year? (Hint if needed: As a first step, what if you took just 1,000 steps per day?) Bonus: Now figure out about how many steps you’ve taken in your life! You can round off to years or half-years to estimate. And remember, you don’t start walking at birth!
Answers:
Wee ones: 4 steps.
Little kids: You took more steps yesterday. Bonus: 10,000 steps.
Big kids: 3,650,000, which is more than 3 million! Bonus: Different for everyone…you can round to 3 million or 4 million per year, then multiply by your age minus 1 or 2 since most kids start walking around age 1, and don’t walk very far those first couple of years.
