Website Review: Playnormous
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this site uses games to teach kids
about good nutrition and exercise. Like a tasty meal that's
packed with nutritious veggies, this site is disguised to look
like simple fun, but is actually loaded with good-for-you
information.
Families can talk about ways to make nutrition and exercise
fun. The game Lunch Crunch challenges players to scramble to
fill up lunch trays with healthy menu selections. Can you think
of a way to play this game in real life? You can also talk
about how to have a healthy lifestyle in the face of often
conflicting media messages about health, food, and body
image.
With childhood obesity and weight-related health problems reaching epidemic proportions, it's becoming increasingly important to teach kids how to make healthy choices. PLAYNORMOUS scraps the notion that nutrition education has to be bland. Competing with the flashy marketing of junk food companies, this Web site offers a full plate of health-themed games and animation that challenge visitors to make quick and easy healthy choices.
Although playing on this site might not be as healthy as playing catch or tag outside, Playnormous does a good job of making an educational and healthy topic cool for kids. Using a hip, no-nonsense tone, the site presents games and health advice in a way that will genuinely appeal to kids so they don't feel like they are getting a lecture in what not to eat from their parents.
Playnormous is nicely designed to appeal to a wide range of ages with games offering different skill levels to match a player's ability. For example, older kids can explore animated 3D medical clips for an up-close look at body functions like how the heart pumps and digestion works.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
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