Video games have long been at the forefront of technological innovation, from the classic Pac-Man arcade machines to today’s portable Nintendo Switch. Now, the Nex Playground is pushing the envelope again, merging screen time with physical movement to create a new wave of active gaming that challenges how we think about fun and movement.
Nex Playground combines the athletic movement of outdoor play and the addition of motion-detection technology, we have the Nex Playground. We hear so much about the dangers of screen time, but if it is properly served with body movement and co-play, can it be healthy?
Nex Playground’s pediatric advisor, Dr. Emily Greenwald, M.D., thinks so.
Many games on Nex Playground are also aimed at advancing multiple areas of child development, including gross motor skills, cognitive skills, and critical thinking. Some games that encourage a high activity level even have built-in “calm” sections where a child must practice self-regulation to go from being very energetic to calm and slow to achieving a task. Practicing self-regulation is important for young children.
There are games for kids, the whole family, and grown-ups. One special component is Nex’s partnership with Sesame Workshop, a franchise that has focused on kids’ wellness through a screen for decades.
Games such as Elmo and Abby’s Magical Letter Hunt help children with letter recognition and cognitive skills while also helping their gross motor skills on the physical side. For older kids, games like Galax offer similar benefits in teamwork development, focus, reasoning, and problem-solving.
“What’s great about our Sesame Street Nex games is that not only are kids engaging and having fun with their favorite characters in an innovative, active way, but they also each have ‘take a break’ prompts, allowing players to do just that — to step away and re-center themselves,” says Michelle Kaplan, Sesame Workshop’s director of learning design, curriculum, and content. “It’s always good to check in with yourself and move accordingly. Another great thing to note is that the games do not record or collect any identifiable data about the players. We want to make sure children are kept safe when engaging with our content.”
So much of today’s modern entertainment has paused movement, encouraging sedentariness in children. Nex Playground aims to not fall under that narrative.
“The future of active gaming holds tremendous promise for shaping children’s health and development,” Greenwald says. “It has the potential to become a cornerstone of healthy habits, combating sedentary lifestyles by offering a fun, engaging, and physically active screen time option in a world where using a screen seems inevitable.”
While still new to the video game scene, the Nex Playground is growing fast. To learn more about this innovative toy, visit nexplayground.com.
NEX PLAYGROUND
Kids use active motions to play video games on this gaming console instead of a controller. It features more than 25 games with different themes, including sports, music, and some of kids’ favorite brands.
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