The Playground presents itself as “an alternative to passive or open-ended digital entertainment” amid “a growing national conversation around children’s screen time habits”.Anyone using the device will still be looking at a television screen, so the benefits for children may be more a “compromise” to include some healthy activity alongside it, Nick said.The parents I spoke to said their children often played on the console for between half an hour to an hour in one session, with the games typically being used as a way to transition into another activity, or to allow some structured play.Brian said while getting a Playground meant they “compromised on increased screen time”, the games were still engaging in a way that he believed “typical cartoons or movies” were not.So did I work up a sweat in any of the games I played?In the initial starter pack, three games involved only a small amount of moving my arms.The final two, the rhythm game and a set of mini-games, did include more full body movements.The fuller Play Pass has a specific “Health & Fitness” category which includes sessions such as daily Zumba workouts, complete with an on-screen instructor shouting out movements in time to the music.It wasn’t clear if I was managing to hit every motion correctly, but it did at least get me moving a bit more, and felt more convenient than heading to a gym class.
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Nex Playground: The UK’s newest games console aiming to get kids moving
