Children’s health has advanced in leaps and bounds in recent decades, with new knowledge about nutrition and child development, and better standards of living across much of the world.
Yet even with all the knowledge and resources we have today, childhood obesity and mental health issues are a growing problem.
Why? Because alongside any advances in expertise, there are also advances in affordable digital entertainment, games and gadgets that have made an art of keeping kids indoors and glued to their screens.
Team8 have a neat solution that uses this same digital technology to gamify exercise, making it as social as a multiplayer video game and just as much fun. The health platform Team 8 have created is one in which every child is a superhero, playing games via their own smart watch without the need for a smartphone to go along with it (although an app is on the cards for those who want the option).
By moving around while wearing the watch, children can power up their own customised superhero. They can also play games that improve their cognitive skills and physical health, and if they join a team with seven other friends who also have a watch, they can unlock extra features to play together.
The watch shoots photos and video that can be viewed later, and parents can use it to stay in touch with their kids via SMS, video call and voice call, and to keep an eye on them via geolocation.
Kids’ schedules can be diarised using the watch, and their health milestones tracked. There’s also the option to keep a photo diary of daily diet, or scan product barcodes. For more information about Team8, visit team8.tv