A formal exercise regime and children don’t really mix.  If you start forcing children to do press-ups and star jumps I’m pretty sure that soon they will be in revolt at being forced to do something so physically demanding and boring.   And that’s exactly why we are in love with this clever game known as ‘Nickelodeon Fit’. The game uses great creativity to attract children to exercise without making them feel that they are enduring some huge chore!

“Dora game, Dora game” squealed my two and a half year old when he seen me pull the ‘Nickelodeon Fit’ game from its jiffy bag.  It’s true to say that I didn’t have to do any explaining what the game involved as the front cover images were enough to draw him in. The familiar and loveable faces were a huge attraction to him and he proceeded to drag me upstairs to where our Wii console is located.  That same day we had already fed the ducks, played with Play-Doh , painted a whole art gallery full of pictures and I was quickly running out of ideas to keep him occupied. So I was only too glad to test out whether this game would be a hit with my children.

I quickly brought out the Wii Fit board (which is an accessory you must have to play this game) and I then needed to create a profile for my son which included his name, age and weight.  I must admit it was a bit of a chore to keep him on the board for the Wii Fit to calibrate but as soon as his 8 year old brother came in and cajoled him to say still for a minute the rest of the set-up was a breeze.  Obviously, with older children this doesn’t pose a problem as my 8 year old encountered no difficulties.

As the game features characters from popular Nickelodeon cartoons such as  ‘Dora the Explorer’, ‘Go, Diego, Go!’, ‘Ni-Hao, Kai-lan’ and ‘The Backyardigans’ my younger son was instantly transfixed when he realised he could control the characters by performing the actions required.  I might add here too that the actions required weren’t fiddly to get right and a huge smile soon appeared on his face when he realised that he was also getting commended for his actions by his favourite characters.  The game is aimed at young players (3-11yrs) but even at 2 and a half, my son knew exactly how to participate in any of the 30 different exercises, such as pogo-sticking with Dora and river rafting with Diego as the on-screen directions were so easy to follow.

The extra little touches make this feel a game of high quality; such as the Wii remote rumbling when you ride over pebbles

My 8 year old son also really enjoyed the game and enjoyed getting quite competitive to see if he could beat his previous scores.

It was quite a nice feeling to watch my two sons (2 and a half and 8) play together on a computer game which was quite cleverly giving them their daily dose of exercise.  In today’s society where child obesity is becoming a bigger and bigger problem this is a clever solution for rainy days or any other day which attracts them really.  And I have to say I am trying to hide the rather smug look on my face after finding such a goldmine of physical activity and fun for my sons.  Ultimately, I know this game is a winner as I have repeatedly been asked to put this game on for my two sons to play.  Amazing game!

For more info please visit www.2kgames.com/2kplay/