Today I wanted to talk a little about our favorite topic at rBods – developing healthy habits in children.

A few years ago when Cathy and I were purchasing domain names we made sure that we tied up rBods4kids as well as rBods4teens (I’ll talk about that site on another blog). Our logic goes something like this…If we can get parents and grandparents to start living healthier on rBods.com then they would automatically start setting good examples for those around them in daily exercise, nutrition and preventative health. If these parents and grandparents took this concept one step further and became “healthy” mentors to their children and grandchildren, by talking openly and frequently to them about the virtues of exercise and eating well, then we could slowly begin reversing the unhealthy trend that has occurred over the last 30 years. We want to introduce rBods4kids in a manner that is safe in every way for the children. There would be absolutely no connection to the children, between rBods.com and rBods4kids, except by the parent or legal guardian (and others like teachers, classmates, grandparents or friends pre-authorized by the parent/guardian). We will actually need proof of their relationship and verify specific pertinent information before completing the process. Then the connection would only transfer certain information between sites. This is an area where rBods would absolutely assign ‘guardian angels’ to preserve security.

Each kid will have his own personal profile page that would include pictures and videos of him/her exercising or involved in different activities. On this page they would be able to select their favorite fruit and vegetable. We plan on having many, many ‘Mentora’, cartoon like characters, with whom the kids will interface. Each of them would share information and ask the kids questions…all of which the parents would have already selected and approved. Things such as “Did you brush your teeth today? “How far did you ride your bike today”. “How many glasses of water did you drink today?” “What fruit did you eat this morning?”, “Its time to do 10 jumping jacks”. The kids would get stars, points, and rewards from rBods4kids as well as those that the parents determine. We would also become a platform for Exer-gaming. Kids and adults would be introduced to new games that require physical activity to advance. Many existing Exer-Games could be adapted for this platform such as Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Fit, Catch the Flag, and Human PacMan. We are especially excited about many Exer-Games being developed that encourage exercise without the restriction of time or place.(ie being tied during exercise to a pad or monitor). These may include games under development through Health Games Research, funded by Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, and Neat-O games currently under development at the University of Houston. rBods will focus on creating good life-long habits, so many rewards would be based on the successful accomplishment of certain healthy activities over time. Simultaneously, the parents could enroll their children in rBods healthy educational classes that would only last 5 to 15 minutes per day. The Mentora would once again be able to deliver this information and randomly test their knowledge later in a fun and engaging manner. Another feature that we would like to include is “The parent report card” that each kid could fill out, each week, to keep their parents on track...ie categories could include regular exercise, nutrition, & preventative health. They would be able to send their parents “rewards” for their good behavior also. We envision the children sharing health motivations (prods) with other kids in their classes and as groups challenging kids across the world with activities.

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions or contact information if you have ideas related to increasing rBods healthy impact on children. After all, kids are our future!