You’d think with all the video games my kids play, that they’d each weigh 600 pounds by now. But if you ever watch Jason play the Wii, you’d see why he actually loses weight playing video games. He just never stops moving!
But in general, my kids hate the outside. They’re just not into sports and other than drawing mazes on the driveway with chalk, they couldn’t care less about breathing in the fresh air. That’s why I was super excited to try out Zamzee after I met with them at the recent Blog Her convention in New York City.
Zamzee is… well, to sum it up quickly… pure genius. It’s the perfect incentive for my kids to exercise, as it works very much like a video game. See, you first set up an account over at Zamzee.com and then you get to create and customize your own avatar. There’s all sort of sizes and shapes for eyes, hair, clothing, etc., as well as companions like dogs, cats, and even dinosaurs. But, for starters you have a very basic avatar with some customization available. To “buy” the other cooler items, you need to first earn Goalz.
How do you earn these points? Simple. Exercise! With a Zamzee meter (roughly the size of a small Flash drive), you just clip it on your clothes or put it in your pocket and head out to exercise. Run. Walk. Bike. There’s even various Zamzee challenges to complete in order to earn bonus points if you finish an activity in a certain timeframe. When you’re done, you head over to your computer, plug in the Zamzee meter to any USB port and it records the amount of exercise you just did, awarding you various Pointz.
There’s badges to earn, levels to unlock, leaderboards to climb and best of all, rewards to purchase. Besides trading in your points for avatar upgrades, you can get actual gift cards to popular stores, donate to charities, or get a bunch of neat physical prizes like video games, apps, and other toys. It’s just like Chuck E. Cheese’s except you need to exercise to earn prizes, instead of playing video games.
I was given two meters to test out, so I gave one to each of my kids, who were both insanely excited to test this out. We started with a simple 30 minute walk outside, and when we came back, they both raced to the computer, ready to see how many points they’ve earned. It took us a little time to realize that there are two point structures on Zamzee, one for just regular exercise (bragging rights), and the other which are “spendable” type points that you earn by doing various challenges. So from then on, Jason and Ryan both started doing the challenges, earning points and buying all sorts of pets and neat clothes for their avatars.
Does Zamzee work? Absolutely. My kids would pretty much throw regular temper tantrums every time Allie or I suggested we go for a family walk or a bike ride. Now, there are no tantrums, and in fact, the kids sometimes suggest it. And they don’t even freak out if they forget to bring their activity meter with them. Jason even slept with it one night, hoping to earn some extra points that way! (No, it didn’t really do much.)
Ryan said, “I like how you can change your avatar and get different pets. That’s fun.” Jason agreed and here’s a video review from him on the overall process:
Zamzee meters come in a variety of colors, simply charge up in a USB port, and cost $29.95. There’s no monthly fee or any other hidden fees necessary. It’s really a fantastic and innovative product, and I should also add that the company’s customer service is top-notch too. If you have any problems at all, it’s easy to contact them and you’ll get an almost-immediate response.
Want to see what the fun is all about? Check out Zamzee.com for more info!
Save 25% off your order at Zamzee.com with coupon code LUVZZ2012
Plus, the fine, friendly folks over at Zamzee have agreed to sponsore a giveaway on Mommy’s Busy… Go Ask Daddy!
Win a Set of 2 Zamzee Activity Meters!!!
Thanks so much to Zamzee for sponsoring this great giveaway!
Giveaway ends on September 6, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on this site. Giveaway is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including District of Columbia) who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. The Winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
More Sweepstakes and Giveaways:
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We like to walk around the neighborhood.
Mine can’t STOP being active. Even when reading or drawing, there is constant movement! No wonder the kinder is so skinny!
They love to play basketball, softball, swimming and riding their bikes.
lauraemerson17 at yahoo dot com
my son plays soccer and basketball
we do a lot of basketball and walking to stay active
My daughter takes Tae Kwon Do
Lots of playtime at local parks
My nieces and nephews stay active by playing games, riding bikes, in the winter – sledding 🙂
Playing games
They play sports in school and ride their bikes
by riding bikes
My niece by riding her bike.
both participate in sports like baseball, basketball
brich22 at earthlink dot net
They are a little older so they help with mowing and helping around the farm. We do have horses so that keeps them active.
We have a park right behind our house so my daughter is always out playing with friends
They are always running around and enjoy going on nature walks with me too.
My kids stay healthy by skim boarding at the beach daily:)
we are lucky there,both our kids love to be outside running around playing with there friends!!!
Playing sports at school, running around with their friends and we love playing dance video games on the Xbox 🙂
Take walks, run around the backyard, fight with each other (lol)!
We swim alot and go for walks at the park.
We ride bikes and take walks, we also love to jump on the trampoline
My daughter plays softball.
Thanks for the chance.
[email protected]
My kids stay active by hiking, riding bikes and swimming.
Running non stop all day!!
I would love to win thiz prize.
My son is always running all over the place.
My kids are all on the swim team. They get lots of exercise.
Bike riding and frisbee golf.
They play sports.
jumping on the bed
My little one is so full of energy and loves to play outside, he like to play on his swingset , jump on the trampoline and ride his bike
My daughter really loves soccer and basketball and that keeps her in shape.
me me
my daughter takes tae kwon do
kids are into all sports!!!
We like to hike, swim and play soccer!
This might get my daughter away from her video games more frequently than the required outside activity of 30 minutes a day. She has a fourteen foot trampoline and a 18 speed bicycle, plus a dog to walk.
Hi Larry! It would be great for your daughter to try Zamzee – good luck with the contest! (To all: if you don’t win – use the code “LUVZZ2012” for a 25% discount at zamzee.com)
Love to take my kids to walk few miles away from home
My kids play the Wii too, but we have all the dancing games. They love their trampoline and hoola hoops too.
I would love to use one of those for myself. It looks like a lot of fun!
My grandchildren…the young ones are still very active in play. The older ones usually play sports. There are one or two that could be more active I think.
[email protected]
My sons plays baseball and football and my daughter is in gymnastics.
I love this idea. Anything to get kids up and moving. Your son is so cute. Great Review!!!
Thanks, Kim! Appreciate it. 🙂
Playing at park, riding bike, and running around. Shuttermom77 at gmail dot com
the play alot of soccer, and ride their bikes all over the place.
This is awesome! My boys are very active and naturally sports inclined. Confession…I want to try this for me! 🙂
Kenyatta, you really should! We have tons of families where the parents use Zamzee, too! (Check out this Amazon review by a parent called “Extra benefit for parents who could use more exercise” http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VKTYZQLYWNDG/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B008JEK1DK&nodeID=3375251&store=sporting-goods)
My two year old loves to dance so we turn on different types of music and just dance like no one is watching (thankfully no-one us usually is!)
My oldest does Karate once a week and we are always outside playing!
I have a toddler who runs around the house nonstop. That keeps her active and me too. Zamzee sounds unbelievable. Like magic almost. Would love to check it out.
We have recently started trying to hike with our girls, and they have really enjoyed it. Looking for new waterfalls and even interesting rocks and leaves keeps us motivated so that you hardly realize you’re exercising!
My kids love to play – we run around the house and play lots of chasing type games. We also have a Kinect and play on that a lot, too. It’s pretty hot here still, and it’s hard to get outside 🙂
Great idea. We stay active by talking daily walks after dinner as a family.
What a great idea! This is one of those things you wished you invented because it is SO simple and will earn a ton of money! LOL! But I love the fact that you can win prizes! What a great motivator! I love the idea of this! More companies need to do stuff like this! How inventive!
Thanks for the kind words, Michelle!