From Tuscaloosa News:

This scene isn’t out of a science fiction novel — it happened Saturday afternoon at the YMCA of Tuscaloosa County, where Jones and a host of other children got their first look at “Lightspace,” a game in the center’s new Kids Zone.

After taking the stairs directly ahead of the front desk, the room of red, yellow and blue-painted walls opens up and is filled with video games that kids play with their bodies, not hand-held controllers.

Byron Langdon, YMCA sports director, said the YMCA needed a place that kids between the ages of 6 and 14 could hang out, since they are too big for day care and too young to use the facility’s fitness center.

Langdon said the idea for the new area came from a Chicago YMCA that recently added the same program to their facility with the help of Motion Fitness, a company that sells and installs the games.

After touring the Chicago YMCA, Langdon said he knew it would be the perfect addition to the new Kids Zone. With the help of the YMCA Men’s Club, the idea became a reality.

“Motion Fitness came in the first part of April and installed the games and we played with them for a few weeks to make sure everything was working,” he said.

From elearningyellowpages.com:

The fun, educational opportunities awaiting you in virtual worlds isn’t just limited to adults. Parents may be concerned about the safety and security of their children online, so here are 25 safe places for kids to play online. Kid-friendly and kid-only virtual worlds are available in almost every niche, from fashion to pirates to sports. Read on for more of these safe, fun and educational virtual worlds for kids and teens.

Younger kids will enjoy losing themselves in virtual worlds that feature pirate ships, adventure worlds, the Wild West, and more.

1. Tootsville: Customize your little Toot, kind of like an avatar, to make friends, play games, shop and more.
2. Neopets: Neopets is an internationally-used virtual world and game site for kids. The world of Neopia has updates on "world events," features a Neopian pound, and more.
3. Puzzle Pirates: Kids can learn strategy, meet friends, find sunken treasure and do other pirate-y things in this virtual world. Pirate ships are full of other players to work and play with and battle other ships.
4. Bang! Howdy: Bang! Howdy is a "fast-paced tactical strategy" platform that features worlds like Frontier Town and Indian Trading Post for kids to play games, meet friends, and develop critical thinking skills.

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Engadget has a few hands on with two new LeapFrog games for kids:

LeapFrog has filled that void in a delightfully hefty, hard-to-swallow form factor, with the new Text and Learn. It’s meant for little chilluns too young to spot a crappy UI and bad ergonomics, so the primary function is pushing the letters and getting it spoken back to you.

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LeapFrog’s just announced a new educational toy that’s designed to get your wee one moving in front of the television. The Zippity (not to be confused with the Grippity) is for pre-school-aged (three to five years old) kiddies, with an interactive mat that incorporates running, jumping and dancing, plus a huge joystick for leaning (and learning left, right, back and front).

Source (Text and Learn)

Source (Zippity)

From 24-7pressrelease.com:

At the gym, kids make friends, are motivated to exercise through group play, video games and interactive equipment while developing good motor skills and body coordination.

No interactive gym can be complete without Gamercize interactive fitness gaming so Game Gym founder, Richard Barria flew equipment halfway around the globe in time for the grand opening.

"The good thing about Gamercize is its wide range of use. You can play any PlayStation game here. unlike the stationary bikes where the only games you play are car chases and racing, with Gamercize, you can play Fight simulations, Basketball, Car chases, everything.

Gamercize is not complicated to use. We have 5 year old kids already using it. On average kids play for more than 10 minutes on the Gamercize before being asked (by our trainers) to allow other kids to use it.

The kids love Gamercize, and we change the games often so as not to be repetitive. Most of the time, they didn’t notice that they are perspiring. They are "into" the game so much to feel tired," Barria adds.

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From marshallnews.com:

Lisa McComas started as the YMCA’s Wellness Director in May, and she lost no time in implementing her pet project, the Kids Fit Zone, which has been open since September.

With a Buckner Foundation grant and additional funding from ConAgra, the YMCA was able to create a special room with workout equipment just the right size for kids. Adjacent to the room of brightly colored machines is a place for virtual exercise, equipped with two Nintendo Wii Fit game systems.

“Childhood obesity is on the rise,” McComas said, and her goal is to “try to get kids more active, teach them healthy lifestyles.”

About 20 children use the room every day it’s open (Monday through Thursday 3 to 7 p.m.), McComas said. Sometimes kids even have to share the Wiis.

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From examiner.com:

Gone are the days of the chubby gamer. More and more studies are suggesting that the socially awkward, overweight gamer sterotype is a thing of the past, along with the myth that gamers are almost all male. With those tidy pieces of information shoved into your pocket, it’s almost too easy to imagine the merging of video games and fitness. It wasn’t hard for the games industry to conceptualize it either and it took them no time to jump right into that perfect pairing. Try YourSelf! Fitness, Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Sports, Wii Play and the piece d’resistance, Wii Fit. Why not include these incredibly popular video games in your normal work out routine? Or even better, why not trick children into working out? A Gold’s Gym in Colorado Springs, CO has done just that.

Located off of Union and Briargate this particular Gold’s has included a gym game room where children from ages 9 to 12 can go to play games and break a sweat. Not only is it a great asset for parents who want to work out but not pay for a babysitter, it’s hardly difficult to talk your kids into playing video games with other kids for about an hour or so. Gold’s Gym says:

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