We all know that exercise is important. It keeps our hearts healthy, gives us energy, and helps keep us in shape. Last year before my wedding I was hitting the gym… a lot! I lost weight, I felt better, and I was fairly happy with the results. But since then? Well… let's just say things have slowed down.

The hubby and I have vowed to get back on it very soon. And we are getting the kids involved. My kids are active, but in this world of technology it is very easy to choose to lounge around the house, watch TV, play games, or browse the Internet on mobile devices. This can lead to laziness and obesity. We don't want that.

Luckily there is technology out there that can actually encourage your family to be active and enjoy it. Michele Obama's Lets Move! Active Schools Initiative recently announced nine additions to their national collaborative. The program ensures that kids in grades K-12 around the country get 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Among the new partners is Sqord. Sqord will provide progress incentives and discounts for its fitness platform and products that gamify physical activity for kids. 

The Sqord Pod is a wearable that tracks all activity – play, steps, and other movements. It converts the activities into points which lead to rewards inside of the app.  Sqord's motto is “Motivating real-world activity & building lifelong healthy habits with an online world full of friends, challenges, characters, points and awards”. The Sqord has been featured by The Washington Post, NBC News, and techstars.

The Sqord Activity Pod

Track Play, Not Steps: The Sqord Activity Pod isn’t merely a step-counter. It tracks all sorts of movement and converts it into points that connect to Awards inside the Sqord App.

Virtually Indestructible: The Activity Pod can take a beating and keep on tracking. The lightweight wristbands are comfortable and incredibly durable. This is perfect for kids who are known to break stuff.

Waterproof: With the Sqord Activity Pod, you never have to worry about taking it off. Those water balloon fights or swim meets can translate into big points inside the Sqord App! I wore it today while washing dishes, washing my face, and brushing my teeth without worry.

9 Month Battery Life: Unlike other wearables, the Sqord Pod uses a standard watch battery designed to last a long time. No need to plug it in every night to charge. Replacing the battery is easy and inexpensive. I can't say that having to charge it would bother me though.

 

Using the Sqord

Install the Sqord app from the Google Play Store or App Store. Open it. To connect your Sqord band, tap the face of your wearable a few times until it blinks. It will then connect… quick and simple.

Click Sign Up to create an account. While the app wants to create a username for me, I would much prefer to create my own username. Even my kids have usernames that they love to use for things like Minecraft. I stuck with the username ProudEditor6 which is a good name for a blogger. After that I had to enter my birthday and gender.

After signing in for the first time I had to enter my parent's email address. HA! Of course the idea is that your kids will be setting this up on their phones or tablets. But, I had to test it out first. 🙂 I'm not sure if it's a bug or by design but, each time I logged in again it had me add my parent's email address. I can see this getting a bit annoying for kids. I received the email each time as if a new player had been added. I figured out that this was because I had not yet logged in and validated my child's account.

 

Once in the app I admit that I was not quite sure what to do next. A quick look at the FAQ gave me the answer. Of course we know that many kids figure these things out with one glance! Syncing is easy. Just like during setup, simply tap the face of the wearable until it blinks. The app will immediately start to sync. It couldn't be easier.

In addition to tracking activity the app connects kids to a social platform. It rewards physical activity. Parents have the option of creating a Family Account. This allows your whole family to play together, and gives parents the ability to track kids' points, or adjust account settings.

I wore my Sqord while I dressed, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, made lunch, and walked around the house. I then tapped to sync. I was awarded an additional 11 Sqoins (points) for my activity. Woo hoo! Somehow I ended up with 6,094 points today. I'm now at a level 3. Woot!

 

While playing kids can:

• Kids can create and customize their very own PowerMe, their avatar character, inside the Sqord online world.
• Kids can use points to unlock cool new features such as messaging friends, upgrading their PowerMe avatar, and much more.
• Kids can compete with their family and friends on the Sqord leaderboard and in head-to-head challenges. Parents can set goals for their kids and create unique Awards to encourage more play.
• Kids can send quick High Fives or Squawks to their friends in a kid-safe environment. The Sqord App is specially designed to make sure all interactions are 100% safe, easy, and fun for kids of all ages.
• Even when not using their the Sqord Activity Pod, kids can create their own Power Me character, high five other players, send thoughts, earn Sqoins and virtual medals and buy other Sqord gear with their Sqoins.

The Giveaway

In addition to the awesome sweepstakes below (which you should totally enter), Sqord is giving one of my readers their own set (4) of Sqord Activity Pods. Win and start competing against your family to see who's the most active!

DUE TO A CAMPAIGN CHANGE, THIS CONTEST HAS TO BE ENDED EARLY. APOLOGIES!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

The Sweepstakes

In order to celebrate Sqord and what it's doing for family activity, Sqord is giving one family an awesome prize!

The winner of the Sqord Family Playstakes will win a family vacation for four to San Diego, California which includes:

• Airfare, hotel (3 days/2 nights), transportation
• Tickets to your choice of LEGOLAND, SeaWorld or San Diego Zoo
• Sqord prize pack (4 Sqord Activity Pods, Wrist Bands and Stickers)

Visit the Sweeps site, or click the banner above to enter!

Follow Sqord at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sqord/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sqord/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sqord_Inc

Good luck!

 

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Sqord. All opinions are my own.