From marketwatch.com:

An independent study at the University of Cumbria found that nine in every ten youngsters want to play video games at the same time as exercising. The games reduce the boredom of exercise.
Fifty children aged 11 and 12 were asked to use exercise equipment combined with video games provided by a company called Gamercize.

The children could play their games only while they maintained movement on the fitness machines. If they stopped exercising, the games paused.

Researcher Jack Tyson said: “The results of this study show that 90% of children like combining video games with exercise.

“Only one in five of these children was achieving the recommended one hour a day of moderate physical activity, while three-quarters of them played video games for more than one hour a day.”

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From mcvuk.com:

Advance Games, L.L.C., a newly founded video game development company in Baton Rouge, has announced its release of Say-N-Play, a speech articulation game used to help children practice word pronunciation. Say-N-Play features Stanford Research Institute’s EduSpeak speech recognition engine for identifying properly pronounced words. Say-N-Play offers a visually engaging twist to articulation drills, making the game fun for children.

Baton Rouge speech-language pathologist, Holly Strange, M.S. CCC-SLP, conceived of the idea to utilize speech recognition technology to make practice enjoyable and offer an engaging alternative to traditional speech therapy drills. Say-N-Play’s graphics are vivid, full of color, and child-appropriate. The game features colorful characters and numerous games to choose from.

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From nytimes.com (via diet-blog.com):

As nationwide concern grows over childhood obesity and inactivity, fitness products masquerading as toys are being designed to slim and tone the younger segment of the population. In many cases, such items are shrunken, stickered and plastic-encased versions of more mainstream adult apparatus found at gyms or health clubs, such as stationary bikes, treadmills and elliptical trainers.

But, as Trina Edwards, a youth fitness expert and registered nurse found, there are a few notable differences to these kid-appropriate, pulse-quickening contraptions — greater emphasis on safety being one of them. Ms. Edwards, who is the publisher of the online magazine Kids Sports & Fitness, recruited 15 children between the ages of 3 and 7 at the Commonwealth Elementary School in Sugar Land, Tex., to try four exercise products designed specifically for children. She examined workmanship, safety, fitness benefit, and the general level of excitement it generated in the group. Over all, she found that a child’s age dictated the success of one product over another and that, in at least one case, the allure of video wasn’t as enticing as she had expected.

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From sfgate.com (via slashdot.org):

Rather than wasting their time, children who gab on Facebook or play online games are gaining valuable social skills and learning some technology basics, according to a study to be released today.

The report, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, contradicts the idea held by many educators, parents and policymakers that children should be blocked from online social networks and video games like Halo, which allow users in different locations to play together. Instead, children should be encouraged to use the technologies to gain a certain level of digital literacy, the study said.

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From google.com (canadianpress):

 Young teens will use violence in video games to “manage their feelings,” say authors of a book about the impact of video games.

In their recently released “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do“, Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson tell parents not to panic about video game violence.

Aside from playing for fun, kids play video games for creative reasons and to relieve stress, Olson said Tuesday.

“Also many children were using games to manage their feelings, and this seemed to be especially true for kids who played violent games like ‘Grand Theft Auto,”‘ said Olson.

Olson and Kutner, of Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital, were speakers at the Montreal International Game Summit, which showcases Quebec’s gaming industry.

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From gamedaily.com:

“A new study put out by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) claims that parents are increasingly seeing benefits from their children playing video games. The survey was hosted on Yahoo!’s website Shine and the results, published in the November issue of Family Circle magazine, showed improvements in hand/eye coordination, problem solving and typing skills.”

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