Physical activity earns online time
Parents Jason Savelli and Lisa Hewitt-Savelli wondered just how long their son Jacob, 9, would stay online in a virtual world for children before losing interest. So one day, as an experiment, they sat back and waited.
He lasted 3 1/2 hours.
“He was mesmerized,” recalls Lisa, a family therapist who lives with her family in Caledonia, Ont., just south of Hamilton. “It was the first time we saw how immersive it can be for a child.”
That’s when the couple — who also have six-year-old twin girls — started brainstorming about ways to keep their kids physically active while also giving them time online.
“The Internet is something that’s not going away,” says Jason, a medical science liaison with an international pharmaceutical company. “It’s something they’re going to use not only for entertainment but for education.”
The couple came up with the idea for WeMüv — a virtual adventure world and online community with a global-travel theme that children access by being physically active.
WeMüv is for ages six and up. Kids wear a special pedometer that counts steps, converting them to points that players use to travel, explore and play in a 2-D animated online world full of games, activities and social interactions. Children access the site by logging onto wemuv.com.
If players aren’t active in the real world, they can’t travel in the virtual world because they haven’t earned the points. This limits their options for online activities.
Jacob wears his pedometer whenever he’s outside playing. It has made him more aware of his activity level, says Lisa. “Because his level of physical activity directly affects his ability to travel in the game, he is motivated to keep wearing his pedometer to collect points.”
The website includes computerized filters and moderators to ensure appropriate online behaviour and on-site staff monitors activity and chat.
Players can block other users and submit reports of possible misconduct. User names and passwords are required for account access. Chat is scripted, with the option of open chat if a parent enables that feature.
A WeMüv pedometer costs $24.95 and includes a three-month travel passport so users can access the site’s features. Renewing travel passports costs from $5.25 for one month to $45.95 for a year. WeMüv is sold online at wemuv.com.
