Online fitness program for kids!

One of the most unique products I was able to review this year was a subscription to Go Trybe. Go Trybe is a website that provides information on nutrition, exercise and wellness, along with customizable exercise videos for kids and teens as well as some light social networking (for instance, creating an avatar and username and collecting friends to "chat" with. Each time you use the website, depending on what you do, points are awarded to you. You can use the points to "purchase" more gear for your character. A subscription to Go Trybe is free for a trial period, or $19.95 for a YEAR using the promo code GETFIT. If you ask me, 20 bucks a year for that kind of variety of workouts is a pretty lucrative offer.

Now on to the details. Let me start by saying that I didn't do the social networking stuff AT ALL. And I think that's okay. My kids are 6 and 4, and were given a subscription to the ZooDoos Trybe (K through 5th). They are too young to even "get" social networking anyway. There are trybes for kids in middle school as well as high school, and the workouts feature children and an adult instructor in that age bracket.

The fun part was choosing workouts for them. They are pretty customizable. You can choose a warm up or two, some core workouts and cool downs. You can name your workouts and save them. There are also nutrition videos, videos featuring athletes to give kids role models to look up to and information and quizzes on nutrition--all with reward points for watching.

The one thing I noticed with the workouts was one time my computer seemed to freeze and would not buffer, and so when I backed up, I realized that I could not start my kids back in the middle of a workout. They had to start at the beginning again. So if your Internet connection goes in and out at times, this could be an annoyance. But overall, the quality of the videos is good, and the variety is nice. I like that most of it can be done in a small space and with little to no props. This would be great for schools that don't have the budget for P.E. Or if as a homeschooler you are required to do actual P.E. hours, this may be an inexpensive option. The workouts do make you work, lol, I was sore after doing a few of them with the kids.

I will say that my natural inclination at the ages my kids are at is to let them play and run around outside and do nature walks and not worry about a structured fitness program. But if you have a child who is in need of some motivation to exercise or who needs to exercise due to health reasons, or for an older child who isn't really very active, this is a great program.

Why? Well, I like that the role models in the videos are other kids. And I like that the content is safe for their age. I can't speak for the older groups, but in the K to 5 videos there is no inappropriate dance moves, music or language, which you do take the chance of having in regular adult workout videos. It's a safe option, at least for the K to 5 set.

If you are interested in this program, do take advantage of their free trial and check out their facts page.

Note: I received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest review.