Children | Evolving Consumer

Put on the Brakes

Younger riders can’t always be seen in traffic and they might not always see what is coming at them. Even on bike paths parents often need to tell their children to slow down or stop. Now the MiniBrake, which was designed by a team of inventors in Hungry puts the brakes on the kid’s bike.

This is an easy to attach braking unit that is being developed through an Indiegogo funding campaign, and the idea is that it lets parents control the brakes and stop a child’s bike remotely. It can also be automatically activated should a child be more than 50 meters away. Continue reading Put on the Brakes

Interbike 2013: Kids Feel the Honey Stinger

Kids are as active as you are, maybe even more. But their nutrition requirements are different. So giving them an adult-size nutrition bar might be overkill, and push them over the daily recommended calorie and fat intakes for the day. Honey Stinger is addressing this need with Kids’ versions of their popular Organic Waffles and Organic Chews. Continue reading Interbike 2013: Kids Feel the Honey Stinger

Weekend Reading List (12.29.2012): Fit Like a Glove, Fitter Kids, Bike to Work

Fit Like a Glove

From BikeRadar: Best winter gloves for mountain biking and commuting
Once the temperature drops, riding-specific winter gloves are essential for keeping warm and in control on your bike. A decent pair will offer windproofing and, in some cases, waterproofing, although it’s important that any fleeciness doesn’t get too in the way of dexterity. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (12.29.2012): Fit Like a Glove, Fitter Kids, Bike to Work

Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

September means the end of summer, and with the coming of fall, it is a time when kids are headed back to school and starting up old routines like classes, homework, and hopefully some involvement in teams, sports and activities with friends. September is also Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

To help encourage activity, there’s plenty of ways to use technology to get kids excited.

There are activity monitors that turn walking and other movement into a game. Technology is improving sporting equipment. But sometimes the best tool is the simple one, such as a ball or a jump rope.

Childhood Obesity Awareness Month Official Website

GeoPalz Goes 3D with V2

Motivating and incentivizing children to exercise can be a tough challenge for any parent when it is even a chore for them to do it themselves. While based in Boulder, Colorado, one of the most health conscience cities in the U.S., the founders of GeoPalz are still aware of the challenges that parents face and have responded with a line of pedometers specially geared towards children. More than just a pedometer, the GeoPalz are actually an entire program designed to motivate children through setting goals, tracking activity and offering rewards or prizes for achieving goals. Since 2008, GeoPalz has been growing this program and adding features, but recently they announced an upgrade with their core product – the GeoPalz Pedometer.

At the core of the original GeoPalz is a 2D pendulum, and after setup, the child walks or runs and the number of steps are calculated by how many times the pendulum inside swings back and forth – think of the pendulum on a grandfather clock. This works fine, but the child needs to attach the original GeoPalz to his hip to use. If located in the correct spot on the child’s hip and if the child always moves in a forward motion, the steps are accurately recorded. How many kids do that?

Since the GeoPalz Pedometer was released, which we covered last year, GeoPalz released a second version of the device – aptly designated with a ‘V2’ behind the name of the original GeoPalz. This new version contains a three-axis or 3D accelerometer to more accurately record movement and it allows the GeoPalz V2 to be worn either the child’s hip or shoe. No more “ma, I forgot my GeoPalz at school.”
Video after the jump

Polar Introduces Active Monitor for Students

Monitoring progress is certainly a good way to stick with a fitness routine, and to that end Polar has introduced the Polar Active. This is designed for students of all ages, who want to improve their health and fitness. It measures the impact of daily activities, and can track just about every moment. With it users can monitor steps taken, calories burned and even time spent in various activity zones.

Students can use the Polar Active to measure and record their physical activity along, and the device can be used with PolarGoFit.com, an online service for teachers and students to monitor and track activity. The portal allows for easy documentation of activity data including daily and long-term progress as well as the ability to share reports with students, parents and school administrators. This can help encourage activity and motivate students to remain active for longer periods of time and maintain a healthy weight. Continue reading Polar Introduces Active Monitor for Students