Empowering Healthy Kids Blog

Microsoft have announced Project Natal for Xbox 360, a way of playing video games without a controller using motion sensing. Think of it as the Wii without the Wiimote. If the trailer looks anything like the real thing, then I’m impressed:

Great for getting children active!

I had the distinct pleasure of giving a talk to 100 or so kids about inventors and inventing. I had been trialling Zippeddy at this school and by luck, for this term, they were learning about inventions through the ages. I told them how I came up with the idea of Zippeddy and the process of creating such a product (along with the trials and tribulations). My observations:

• Kids are easily impressed with the smallest things (just a PCB circuit board with a few lights excites them) and like the fact that something made made “just for them” and looks cool.
• A sizable portion (about 30%) opened up electronic gadgets to see what was in them. I told to keep doing that
• One smart kid said”Are you going to make this in China, cos of the labour?” - I replied with the truth that the parts would be made in China but assembled here in Melbourne.
• Many (including the teachers) wanted to know how you come up with the idea. I replied by saying I wanted to make kids be physically active and I had the skills and knowledge in engineering to do this - thus the concept of a web enabled kids pedometer was born.
• One student asked how do I promote my product? I thought that this kid, not only understands inventing, but business as well.
• Many asked when it will be in shops. I replied that we are trying to get it into schools first, then into shops later.

Afterwards I stuck around and many more kids asked more questions. Some even pitched their ideas to me. Overall, I was impressed with their inquisitiveness and desire to create new things.

Today is Walk to School Day!

Today and Aussie Apples are running a competition to find Australia’s Healthiest School. Here the skinny:

All you have to do is film a 60 second video showing us why your school is the healthiest school in Australia and you must include apples in your video.

See here for more info. Entries close 22 May 2009.

UPDATE: Winner announced (with video).

I have been working with the wonderful kids and teachers at Silverton Primary School. So far, feedback on Zippeddy has been positive and the students have been quite excited by it. They are also keen to add their 2c as well on how it can be improved too… which is great!

Follow trial updates via Twitter.

I like this:

Play is serious business for KaBOOM!, a national non-profit aimed at locating and funding play spaces. The organization has launched a campaign to locate 100,000 play spaces — playgrounds, skate parks and field complexes — in 100 days in an effort to ensure there is a play space within walking distance of every child.

Through its online play space locator, KaBOOM! is asking parents, teachers and community leaders to enter and rate their local play spaces. For every play space entered, $1 will be donated to charity in the name of country music singer and two-time Dancing With the Stars winner Julianne Hough. The result will help parents locate the best play spaces in their area and provide an honest analysis to community leaders of whether they have enough quality play spaces, says CEO Darell Hammond.

Check your local YMCA for scheduled events and activities:

Put play in your day and enjoy some fun and relaxing active family time by visiting your local Y on April 18 for YMCA Healthy Kids® Day.  The nation’s largest health day for children and families, YMCA Healthy Kids Day offers fun, engaging and creative activities for children and families and promotes year-long wellness and healthier living.  YMCA Healthy Kids Day events are free and open to all.

A new programme by “got milk?” Body By Milk(R) Campaign and NBA FIT, the NBA’s comprehensive health and wellness initiative that promotes healthy lifestyles for children, teens and adults through fitness and nutrition:

Teens can join the Get Fit By Finals Challenge at bodybymilk.com. Whether they’re star athletes or just wanting to improve their fitness level, the program has something for teens of all ability levels and interests to help them achieve their personal goals. To help motivate teens to get involved, Challenge participants will be eligible to win a variety of prizes, including sports equipment and a VIP experience at the 2009 NBA Finals. Participating schools also have a chance to win a gym makeover by showing how they rally their students to get fit.

Exclusive Get Fit Tips and Tools

• Exclusive NBA Training Videos: Teens can watch exclusive videos each week at bodybymilk.com to get the inside scoop on how the pros stay fit and healthy. Featuring some of the best players from the NBA and WNBA, as well as NBA trainers and sports dietitians, each video covers different fitness or nutrition topics to help guide teens on the road to fitness, NBA-style.
• Get Fit “Daily Drills”: Teens can receive daily video tips from NBA pros suggesting simple behavior modifications they can make each day to help them Get Fit. Teens can get their Daily Drills online or they can opt to receive them via e-mail - whatever suits them best!
• Online Personal Fitness Tracker: To help them stay on track with their fitness routine, teens will receive a free Personal Fitness Tracker when they sign up for the Get Fit By Finals Challenge. This exclusive online tool helps them log their minutes of daily exercise and milk consumption, journal their progress towards reaching their personal goal, and assign a “Get Fit Champion” to follow along and provide motivation. Some studies suggest journaling can be an effective way of reaching personal fitness and health goals.
• Get Fit “To Go”: Teens won’t have to go far to get expert fitness tips and exclusive NBA content. The Get Fit “widget” is a one-stop shop for program information, serving up weekly videos, Daily Drills and a link to their Personal Fitness Tracker - all from the convenience of their own social network page or desktop. Teens can grab the widget at bodybymilk.com - then they’re good to go!

Get Fit Rewards

Getting fit can be a rewarding experience - especially with the support of Milk and the NBA. When teens join the Get Fit By Finals Challenge, they’ll receive a special Get Fit rewards package featuring discounts on fitness gear. Frequent “mini-challenges” will encourage teens to show how they’re getting fit for the chance to bag some sweet rewards, and teens who show how they’re getting fit using their Personal Fitness Tracker will be eligible to win trips to the NBA Playoffs and a grand prize of an all-expenses-paid VIP experience at the 2009 NBA Finals. Plus, there are cool sweepstakes prizes for all teens, whether or not they join the Challenge.

Get the Body You Want

Being active and eating right is key to getting fit and maintaining a healthy weight - and it’s important to think about what you drink. Regular exercise and a healthy diet that includes drinking lowfat or fat free milk is not only a healthier choice; it can also help teens look and feel their best.

In fact, studies suggest that teens who drink milk instead of sugary drinks tend to be leaner than teens who don’t.

Get Fit By Finals encourages teens to drink 3 glasses of lowfat or fat free milk a day to help get the nine essential nutrients active bodies need, including calcium, protein, vitamin D and potassium. It’s a simple behavior change that can add up to make a big difference. Choosing lowfat or fat free milk over nutrient void beverages is one easy way teens can cut out empty calories and in their place, get important nutrients to help them look and feel healthy.

New research yields quantitative targets for children’s exercise:

Led by Kinesiology and Health Studies professor Ian Janssen, the new study supports Canada’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Children and Youth, which call for children to accumulate at least 90 minutes of  moderate-to-vigorous physical activity over the course of the day, in bouts of at least five to 10 minutes’ duration. Until now there has been no scientific evidence to support the recommendation of sustained, rather than sporadic exercise.

I love entrepreneurs:

AN Aylesbury fitness guru has turned entrepreneur by setting up her own business which aims to get young people fit and healthy using alternative fitness programmes.Kate Wells, 24, of Watermead, set up Wikidz exercise and fitness company with the ultimate aim of getting the Vale’s children fit and keeping them that way for life.

As the Government continues to try and tackle the issue of childhood obesity, the pressure is on for schools to provide more opportunities for youngsters to participate in physical activities as well as eating a balanced, healthy diet. This, Miss Wells believes, is where her company Wikidz comes in. She set up the company with business partner and ex-army fitness expert Karl Rowley in October 2008 and feels the time is right to start changing the mindsets of parents and youngsters alike.

For the next two weeks at the William Harding School in Aylesbury, Miss Wells will be teaching her ‘Team Energy’ programme to Year 3 pupils. Team Energy is just one of three programmes which include Team Combat and Team Jam which are tailored for different age groups. The programmes use fast-paced music, dance, martial art techniques, circuits, relays, aerobics and team games to keep 5-16 year olds active and interested.