Exergaming Your Kids

Have you got a big old kid that is acting like the most spoiled couch potato in the world?  If so then you might want to try the exercising device that is now all the rage for both kids and adults called the Gamercizer.

How does this gadget get your kid up off the couch? In essence the entire gadget looks like something that belongs in an episode of the Flintstones. It is an exercise bike or treadmill that is attached to a video screen. The only way to keep the virtual style video game running is to put your kid on it and tell him to cycle and run. 

 Of course, as most kids also love to play video games they will also play the video game at the same time. Well it seems that in order for this to run efficiently that your kid has to keep up a certain pacing of exercise or the screen on which the video game is playing will go completely black.  I think this is a great idea as kids nowadays definitely seem to be more interested in the computer screen then playing hopscotch or baseball.  Even weirder they prefer the simulated outdoors to the real one, especially if the simulated outdoors takes place inside the weird mind of some animator. 

It appears that the exercise gadget the Gamercizer made to PC Magazine's Top Ten List of Fitness Gadgets for 2007.  Your treadmill, cross trainer, cycle or stair climber, can power Nintendo and other games.  Of course the Gamercizer only really suits people who are good multi-tasking as it involves exercising and playing video games at the same time. 

If you have a couch potato for a child it is obvious how this could help motivate him or her get off of the couch and start exercising.  First of all it allows the child to develop incredible powers of concentration and stamina. It is actually quite difficult to run on a treadmill and play a video game at the same time. Of course us moms might want to try more passive versions of software on this type of device. There are non-combative and non-competitive versions of this type of bike that allow you to look at pleasant scenery as you cycle on the bike. The minute you stop cycling your adventure disappears.  

You can also get versions of these types of Exergaming programs that take you into a fantasyland where you get to cycle in all kinds of different exotic locations.  You can program the number of hills you have to climb, the kind of weather you are running in and also what you are wearing. Perhaps footage of George Clooney running just out of my reach and very fast might give me the motivation to work more weight off than usual.  There is nothing like the thrill of the chase to get a person's heart pumping.

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Every Day Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy should never be your first line of defense when it comes to emergencies but having some of it on hand can be helpful for healing certain ailments.  

Here is a bit of a breakdown of what is nice to have on hand. 

Essential oils are quite effective for muscle pain. You can mix a few drops any peppermint, juniper, clove, pine or balsam oil oils in 8 ounces of a carrier oil such as grapeseed and rub it over the sore spots add them to a bath or rub them directly into the skin.  Just a word of warning though. Never use essential oils directly on the skin without the carrier oil or you could cause an allergic reaction in yourself or your children. 

Use Tea tree oil along with geranium or lavender oil to heal cold sores.  Mixed with chamomile oil, tea tree oil it can be a good remedy eczema.  Keep in mind too that you don't have to mix up this kind of thing yourself.  However you can if you want! Tea tree oil can be bought in commercial preparations or made into an oil by yourself by diluting two or three drops of the essential oil into eight ounces of a carrier oil such as aloe vera. This oil can then used to heal and disinfect small cuts, scrapes, bruises, insect bites and bee stings.

Many aromatherapy oils are extremely effective when it comes to getting rid of headaches or stuffed up noses. Lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, neroli (orange blossom) or linden blossom oil either diffused through a room with a steamer. If the kids have given you one of those tension headaches you can rub these oils on your head or neck.  Headaches that are caused y sinus problems are effectively relieved by diffusions of lemon, lavender basil, clove, eucalyptus, frankincense, juniper, pine or rosemary oils. If the headache is believed to have a hormonal cause, chamomile, jasmine, geranium, clary sage or lavender may relieve it. 

Aromatherapy can also be used to treat nausea, dizziness and nervous conditions. This is effectively done simply by rubbing a blend of peppermint and ginger oils in a circular motion on the stomach and pulse points or by anointing a handkerchief with a few drops so that you can sniff the aroma while on a road trip.  I sometimes give my kids ginger candies to quell queasiness on the road. 

Essential oils can also be used to relieve jet lag and hangovers as wells .Oils that are very effective for both are peppermint, orange, clary sage, geranium, eucalyptus, ginger and basil.  Teas created from these herbs and plants are also very effective if you overdid it the night before! You don't have to be an herbalist to get this stuff. Many herbal remedies already made from these oils are available in stores.  All you need to do is read the list of ingredients in the cream, spray or lotion carefully to see if you are getting the right thing.

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