*Contest closed. Winner were chosen randomly from their comments and pictures received. Congratulations to Shawn (comment), ChemoMom (comment), and Bec (picture)! Please email me to claim your prize! mountainmamatales (at) gmail (dot) com*
**Check back in April for another chance to win from GeoPalz!**
It is no secret that kids are moving much less these days. With the onset of video games, T.V., electronics, and plain laziness, obesity is at an all-time high. Part of the goal of Tales of a Mountain Mama is to inspire families to get their kids outside and moving much more. It is a mission we obviously believe in whole-heartedly and strive to make one of the top priorities of our own family.
Back in the fall, I was given a chance to test out a GeoPalz tracker that I won from the Outdoor Blogger Network. It has taken me a while (which is good news because that just means a lot of testing to report back to you) but here is what we think of the company, the pedometer, the mission and the prizes.
About GeoPalz:
GeoPalz is a company aimed at getting kids moving through fun pedometers and prizes they can earn by basically being active. The GeoPalz are $25 each, but you can also use your own pedometers if you already have one. That being said, the GeoPalz have quite a few neat features (explanations below) that make me believe they are worth buying them from the site. Kids (and parents) track their steps on the GeoPalz site (J likes tracking his and listening to the sound effects of lots of steps taken and cheering!) You earn points that you can trade in for prizes. The prizes range from frisbees to balls to gift certificates and you just pay the shipping to have them sent to you. They also just started a program where parents can add their own prize to your child's "prize store" through Amazon.com and determine how many steps it will be worth. These prizes are paid for by parents (they are NOT free) but it is a great way for kids to have to earn something they really have their eyes on. Finally, there are milestones completely with printable certificates (and geo-tags you can collect - you just pay shipping on them.)
The Trackers...
...come in a bunch of different designs with the idea being that if the wearer likes the design, they will be more inclined to wear it. There are definitely a variety ranging from cutesy to sports to nature-themed.
J has the "Tree of Life" tracker.
- 98% accurate (we agree.)
- Tri-Axis Accelerometer
- Calibration (which is great for little steps like J's!)
- 21 Days of storage (no need to worry if you miss reporting a day.) You can check the steps for each day and it will flash the date at the same time.
- MVPA - intense play tracking
