Tag: #kids

School children become aid working heroes in new Irish made video game. #Gaming #Sustainimals

Primary school children can become life-saving aid workers in a new Irish made video game that mixes fun with serious world issues like hunger and climate change. Sustainimals is a free online game where the player must support a community devastated by a massive storm and floods that destroyed homes, water sources and food crops.

The game also features fun mini-games that the player must complete to get aid supplies. They include catching compostable items in a brown bin as they fall from the sky and searching for locally grown items in a farmer’s market.

It was made by five third-year game design students at TU Dublin in collaboration with the international humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide.

“Games can be educational and incredibly good fun to play, which is why we came up with Sustainimals,” said game developer Niamh Germaine (22) from Graiguecullen in Carlow.  

Kai Molloy Gaffey and Nikolas Antoniou of St. Brendan’s primary school in Artane, Dublin playing the new Sutainimals video game made in partnership between TU Dublin and Concern Worldwide available for free on the Concern.net website. Pic: Marc O’Sullivan

“We wanted to highlight the importance of sustainability in our game and the need for everyone to live with each other and our environment in a more balanced way.

“The main player is a cute cartoon animal called Wasiwasi (Swahili for Concern) who wants to live sustainably with the other animals in the community – which is why we called it Sustainimals.

“We really hope that those who play our game develop a greater level of empathy and understanding towards those who are struggling today with food insecurity.”

Niamh and the other developers on her team – Dubliner’s Matthias Greferath (21) from Stillorgan, Sonny O’Mahony (21) from Raheny, Kevin O’ Halloran (20) from Knocklyon and Serena Manassero (26) from Swords – created Sustainimals in just 12 weeks. 

They made the game for children aged between nine and 13 and hope that it will be played in schools around the country – but it is already getting great reviews from pupils at schools that got to play the game before its release.

“Sustainimals is one of those games that you can learn from but also have a lot of fun playing,” said Jaydyn Gannon (11) from St Brendan’s Boys in Artane, Dublin. 

Concern Worldwide said it was “honoured and very grateful” to have been asked to be a TU Dublin partner with this game, which shows some of the work its own aid workers do today in 23 of the world’s poorest countries.

Nikolas Antoniou and Kai Molloy Gaffey of St. Brendan’s primary school in Artane, Dublin playing the new Sutainimals video game made in partnership between TU Dublin and Concern Worldwide available for free on the Concern.net website. Pic: Marc O’Sullivan

 

“We applaud the TU Dublin students who made this fun and engaging game with Concern in mind, for which we are very grateful,” said Concern’s school and youth manager Noeleen Doyle. 

“They have created a game that can inspire an entire generation of children about the importance of living in a sustainable way as we try to reduce world hunger, climate change and violence.”

Sustainimals is one of TU Dublin’s Serious Games projects, which gives game design students the experience of developing games that both entertain and educate. 

Each year, students develop these type of games for not-for-profit organisations such as charities and social enterprises.

Veteran Irish game developer, Peter Lynch, who lectures in game design at TU Dublin, said they are “very proud” of their students and the games they have created for worthwhile causes. 

The university’s games programme and students will be moving to the new TU Dublin Grangegorman Campus after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. 

Sustainimals is available to play for free on the Concern website at https://www.concern.net/sustainimals-game and will work on up-to-date mobile and PC devices.

Tech Review – imoo Ear-care Headset: The World’s First Open Ear Wireless Headphones For Children. #imoo #kids

Need some headphones for your kids that are durable well these are certainly something to check out right now, even from my own perspective on them these are rather good in the audio department and pack some punch but keeping it safe for your kids ears and perhaps something I should look into myself maxing out my earbuds and headphones all the time.

My daughter has taken enough of my headphones and earbuds and they do not last long but she still has some of them intact now but this is why these are the ideal situation for kids being a durable product with not much tech know how need to operate as they are limited with functions as you will see in the video review below.

Why buy these ..

Designed To Promote Hearing Health

Built to ensure Volumes are always at a suitable level for children, the imoo Ear-care Headset’s volume maxes out at 85dB to meet World Health Organisation recommendations to protect children’s ears from early hearing damage.

Made To Keep Children Safe

Allowing children to hear their surroundings when they are using the headset so whenever they are on their way home, in the playground or at the park, the imoo Ear-care Headset always has safety in mind because it is designed to make sure children are aware of what is around them.

 

Clear And Precise Audio

The imoo Ear-care Headset gives the best quality sound of any audio device made exclusively for children, they will be expected to hear crystal clear sound sent directly to their ear canals while also ensuring their privacy when they use it. This is possible because of the exclusive soundbeaming speakers.

Built For Comfort

With a comfortable design, the imoo Ear-care Headset has a first of its kind outer ear design, especially built for children and made to directionally transmit sound to children’s ears for a truly unique experience that is always stable on their heads.

 

Key features and specifications:

 

  • 16.2mm Large-size Soundbeaming Speaker
  • Infrared wearing sensor for automatic start and pause
  • IP54 Dust-proof and water-resistant
  • Extremely Lightweight and Anti-allergy Materials
  • Strong and sturdy design built to stay on children’s heads
  • Bluetooth 5.0 with up to 10m of range.
  • 8 Hour Battery Life
  • 1 Hour Quick Charge

Pricing:  EUR: €49  GBP: £49  USD: $59 AUD: A$79

BUY HERE

Unique Website Helps Children and Parents Worldwide to Prepare for Hospitalization

Every year, millions of children around the world are admitted to hospital for having anaesthesia and surgery. Many of them experience preoperative anxiety which negatively affects both their hospital experience and medical outcome, as well as their future relationships with healthcare services from both a short-term and long-term point of view.

Unfortunately, hospital-related stress and anxiety among children and adolescents are often caused by a lack of preparation and understanding of the situation ahead. This despite the well-known fact that up to 60 percent of children show signs of severe anxiety when entering the operating room, Gunilla Lööf says, Nurse Anaesthetist and researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. With personal experiences of being forced to undergo medical procedures scared and unprepared as a child, Gunilla has spent much of her professional life preparing children and their parents for hospital stays.

In terms of impact, preoperative anxiety affects the child negatively in a short-term perspective with increased nervousness, pain and analgesic requirements during the hospital stay, but also from a long-term point of view with temper tantrums, sleeping difficulties, enuresis and food disorders, Gunilla says. Even though the frequency of negative behaviour is limited and decreases over time for most children, almost 10 percent of them still suffer a year after the hospitalization.

Unfortunately, lack of information, preparation and understanding cause significant stress and anxiety during hospitalization for both children and their parents. This despite strong evidence showing that making children and parents feel prepared is crucial in order to decrease distress and anxiety, to improve cooperation and participation, and to reduce negative consequences from both a short-term and long-term perspective.

The Anaesthesia Web
As a newly launched and internationally aimed website, the Anaesthesia Web offers children and parents help in order to prepare for hospital stays, anaesthesia and surgery. Today, children and adolescents have the unique experience of having been surrounded by digital media since birth. They use the Internet to play, search for information and learn new things. Furthermore, they declare the Internet as their primary source of information prior to contacts with healthcare and medical treatments. That is why we are here, Gunilla says. Research also shows that web-based preparation significantly increases knowledge and understanding in both children and parents compared to information offered as conventional brochure material.

The Anaesthesia Web is developed to be accessible to all children in terms of content, technology, pedagogy and language. The website offers children and adolescents information in an age-appropriate, interactive and playful way; simply in a way they can absorb and understand. There are videos, series, podcasts, blogs and FAQs. Visitors also get the opportunity to meet others with similar experiences. Perhaps you would like to join Doctor Safeweb or spy-scout Hilding Vilding? Or maybe visit the Clown Hospital, solve puzzles, do crafts, paint or play in your own operating room?

 

In addition to this, the website contains information for adults in 32 different languages. We know that fear and anxiety in children are greatly affected by the condition of their relatives. Therefore, it is incredibly important that family members feel well-informed and comfortable with the situation in order to be able to support their child in the best way possible, Gunilla emphasizes. All content on the Anaesthesia Web is based on clinical and scientific evidence and has been developed by a multidisciplinary team together with children of all ages, all with various experiences of healthcare. The Anaesthesia Web has open access, is free to link, and as all the content on the site is generally applicable it can be used irrespective of national or local procedures.

The purpose of web-based preparation programs is never to replace, but to support children’s information and preparation as well as their contact with healthcare providers, Gunilla says. More time will be available for individual interactions since the preparation has already started before the child has arrived at the hospital. After all, I know what it means to be afraid in hospital. There is no doubt that healthcare encounters have an impact on children and parents. The question is, what kind of impact do we want it to be?

At the Anaesthesia Web children, in all ages and cognitive levels, can learn more about the body, what it is like being in hospital and what happens before, during and after anaesthesia and surgery.

The Anaesthesia Web has been developed to be accessible to all children and young people in terms of content, technology, pedagogy and language.

All content for children is available in English and Swedish. Information for adults is available in 32 different languages.

The Anaesthesia Web has open access, is free to link, and can as all the content on the site is generally applicable, be used irrespective of local procedures.

The Anaesthesia Web contains medically quality assured information that has been developed by a multidisciplinary team together with children of various ages and different medical experiences and experienced specialists within anaesthesia and paediatrics from Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. All content is based on scientific and clinical evidence.

The Anaesthesia Web has been developed following a concept by Gunilla Lööf, nurse anaesthetist and medical doctor (PhD) at the Department of Paediatric Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden.

After having seen children being forced to undergo medical procedures, afraid and unprepared, Gunilla has spent many years working on development of web-based medical preparation programmes for children and young people. Gunilla defended her doctoral thesis at the Karolinska Institute in the field of web-based learning for children and young people when they come into contact with medical staff, and she is still pursuing research into paediatric anaesthesia, care and web-based learning.

The Anaesthesia Web is funded by The Swedish Inheritance Fund and The Foundation for the Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital.

Tech Review – Planet Buddies kids Headphones #Tech #PlanetBuddies

Planet Buddies launched a new range of products some weeks ago and now are available to purchase these are primarily aimed at kids and they have a nice suite of tech products which also sends a message about the planet and keeping things green.

 

There is three types of headphones on offer and all have a DB limit to 85DB for the safety of kids ears and something perhaps I should pay heed to as I love to go max out on volume all the time. My review is based on how they look work and sound and not the usual review I do as these are aimed at kids however they sound good and very useable indeed and also look great with their colours and the message they are trying to get across now like many companies in the tech world.

Key Features:
Child-safe limited to 85db to protect hearing
Adjustable headband suitable for children aged 3+
In-line mic and mute/play functions
3.5mm jack compatible with most audio devices
100% recyclable packaging, with no plastic used
Foldable, portable design (excluding Pippin the Panda and Charlie the Tiger)
Eco hemp carry pouch included (excluding Pippin the Panda and Charlie the Tiger)

Find out more at: https://www.planetbuddies.co.uk/uk/headphones

NESTLUMS released TODAY & ALREADY TRENDING on APP STORE – to TEACH KIDS THE VALUE OF MONEY. #Nestlums #Finance #Cashless

Nestlums – an innovative app to teach children about the working of money in our virtually cashless, digital world, where it may seem invisible to them –  launched today and is already trending on the App Store and has been for us on site too which is really great news for the company.

Wayne Travis (Creative Director of a  leading fintech company, Thought Machine) and his team mates, as parents concerned about their young kids limited understanding of money in our increasingly cashless digital world, decided to create an app to teach them the essentials, in the form of a game so enchanting they will be begging to keep on playing and learning:
Neslums is a new mobile app which offers modern money training for children through a unique, character-driven, gamified experience, without connecting to a bank account or touching any real money.
The modern digital world presents new challenges in teaching children about money. Research released today by Thought Machine shows that in 1 in 4 UK families, a child had made an unauthorised purchase online. When it came to parents teaching their children about financial literacy, 80% believe it is important that their child learns financial literacy concepts from an early age. Although 1 in 3 parents said that they were unsure their child currently has the necessary understanding of financial literacy concepts for their age.
The release of the research coincides with the launch of Nestlums, a new mobile app created by Cauldron in partnership with BAFTA nominated game developers Glitchers. The app offers modern money training for children through a unique, character-driven, gamified experience, without connecting to a bank account or touching any real money. The Nestlums team hope the app can provide tangible support in building financial understanding, especially where digital money is concerned.
“We know that getting to grips with money can be hard for kids, especially as it becomes increasingly less visible in the modern world. My seven year old daughter barely has a clue what’s going on when I tap my card in a shop!”explains Wayne Travis, Creative Director from Cauldron. “With the growing prevalence of virtual currencies and the rise of the dreaded in-app purchase, we wanted to reinforce the idea of earning money honestly, appreciating the value of money even if you can’t see it or touch it, and not blowing it recklessly.”
As families have been spending more time at home, it is likely children are also spending more time online. The Nestlums team hope the app can provide tangible support in building financial understanding, especially where digital money is concerned.
Nestlums can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for a one-off payment of £2.99, and features no subscription charges, in-app purchases or advertising.
For more information on Nestlums, visit: https://www.nestlums.io

An innovative new APP to keep parents sane and CHILDREN having FUN whilst LEARNING FINANCIAL LITERACY! #Nestlums

Launching today, Nestlums is a new mobile app which offers modern money training for children through a unique, character-driven, gamified experience, without connecting to a bank account or touching any real money.

The modern digital world presents new challenges in teaching children about money. Research released today by Cauldron shows that in 1 in 4 UK families, a child had made an unauthorised purchase online. A third of parents also said that they were unsure their child has the necessary understanding of financial literacy concepts for their age. 

As families have been spending more time at home, it is likely children are also spending more time online. The Nestlums team hope the app can provide tangible support in building financial understanding, especially where digital money is concerned.

Created for people who want their children to develop good financial habits early, Nestlums harnesses the power of play to make a typically uninteresting subject engaging and rewarding. In the app, charming ‘Nestlum’ characters encourage kids to earn virtual currencies through the successful completion of real life tasks, set by parents in the app. Upon completion, children can then go on to manage, save and spend their earnings.

 

“We know that getting to grips with money can be hard for kids, especially as it becomes increasingly less visible in the modern world. My seven year old daughter barely has a clue what’s going on when I tap my card in a shop!” explains Wayne Travis, Creative Director from Cauldron. “With the growing prevalence of virtual currencies and the rise of the dreaded in-app purchase, we wanted to reinforce the idea of earning money honestly, appreciating the value of money even if you can’t see it or touch it, and not blowing it recklessly.”

 

Nestlums features two virtual currencies: ‘Gems’, which let kids unlock and play games within the app, and ‘Coins’ which represent a tally of real world money that can be honoured by parents as actual pocket money outside of the app.

 

“We designed the wise little creatures in Nestlums to tune into a child’s innate sense of empathy, and give them something to bond and play with as they progress. We’ve always said to parents: if they won’t listen to you, maybe they’ll listen to the Nestlums!” explains Fox Rogers, Design Director at Cauldron. “We are striving to create responsible financial behaviours that translate into the real world.”

 

Nestlums is the first public initiative from Cauldron, the recently re-branded creative arm of fintech pioneers Thought Machine, and has been created in partnership with BAFTA award nominated games developers Glitchers.

The app is aimed at younger children who do not yet have their own bank account or smartphone, and is intended to live on the parent or guardian’s device. Nestlums has been specifically designed as a safe space for children to learn financial behaviours. For example, the app does not connect to a bank account or card and features a secure ‘grown-ups’ section for managing a child’s tally of coins against money spent/honoured in the real world. 

“Multiple children can be set up in Nestlums, and there is no limit to the number of tasks that can be set, rewards given, or games played, allowing Nestlums to be adapted to suit every family.” says lead Game Developer, Max Scott-Slade at Glitchers. 

 

Nestlums can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for a one off payment of £2.99, and features no subscription charges, in-app purchases or advertising.

For more information on Nestlums, please visit: https://www.nestlums.io  

Moshi Twilight – Sleeping experts work with Goldie Hawn to combat children’s anxiety in the time of crisis. #Kids #Moshi

Moshi Twilight – the #1 sleep and mindfulness app for kids has partnered once again with Hollywood legend Goldie Hawn to launch a new ‘Brain Break’ to help families around the world improve the mental wellbeing of their kids and reduce anxiety during worrying times.

 Put together by the BAFTA award-winning Moshi team, Goldie’s Brain Break is an important resource that can be used by parents to help stabilise emotional thinking and help kids refocus when there is a need to bring balance and reduce family stress.  Recorded with the Moshi team, this Brain Break is a short wind-down exercise – set to calming music – that takes heightened emotions down to a sense of calm.  

Anxiety in children is continuously on the rise, affecting 30% of children and adolescents, yet 80% never get help according to Child Mind Institute. As world events create more uncertainty and stress, this growing issue affects millions of families around the world, especially during this unprecedented crisis.

 

Sleep expert and psychologist, Dr Azizi Seixas, who works alongside the Moshi team, says:

 

“Feelings can be overwhelming sometimes, especially for children who haven’t learned how to react and respond to them. Managing emotions, even more so during stressful situations, can be difficult regardless of age. This is especially true when routines are disrupted. Routines play a key role in promoting feelings of safety and security in children and when boundaries are broken they can feel more vulnerable and unsettled.”

 

As part of her philanthropic work, Goldie Hawn is actively committed to empowering children and families through acts of mindfulness, and has also lent her voice to a Moshi bedtime story, “Goldie the Mindful Moshling”, which has already been listened to millions of times by kids around the world.

 

Goldie shared the news of the launch of her Brain Break in the Moshi app with her 2.1M Instagram followers, saying: 

“In these times of uncertainty and fear, it is important to calm your brain to help reduce stress and anxiety. Please enjoy this Brain Break with your child and your family every day. Please visit @twilightmoshi to get this free Brain Break (and a really fun sleep story I narrated) on their app.”

CEO of Moshi Twilight, Ian Chambers said:

“School closures, self-isolation and quarantine is unfortunately becoming an unavoidable part of our everyday vocabulary and behaviour, and even as adults, the feelings associated with this are overwhelming.  We hope that Goldie’s Brain Break will help families achieve a sense of calm during moments of stress and anxiety.

 

“Against a backdrop of uncertainty, we are thrilled to be able to give this to families around the world for free via the Moshi app.”

Goldie’s Brain Break is free to use on iOS, Android and Amazon Fire and is now part of the Moshi Twilight app that has played over 75 million stories since launch. The Moshi Twilight app also includes: Moshi Stories, Guided Meditations, Moshi Moments, Music and Sounds to help kids wind down, relax, de-stress and sleep.

Ms Hawn concludes: “All children in the world are our most precious resource for a happier, healthier tomorrow. They deserve all we can give them to thrive and succeed in this sometimes challenging world.”

BolognaRagazzi Digital Award 2015 for ‘My Very Hungry Caterpillar’ app by @Tiwaash #iOS #Kids

StoryToys, a leading publisher of interactive books and games for children, has been awarded the prestigious BolognaRagazzi Digital Award 2015 for ‘My Very Hungry Caterpillar’, an app for children based on the work of renowned illustrator and author Eric Carle.

The BolognaRagazzi Digital Award is given by the organisers of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the world’s leading event for children’s publishing since 1963. The award is designed to identify and promote innovation and excellence in children’s digital publishing, and is one of the most prestigious in this rapidly emerging global industry. In 2015 the international jury considered 192 entries from 27 countries. For 2015, the “jury decided not to award separate fiction and non-fiction categories, but instead to award a single top prize for an outstanding app that unifies both genres.”

In My Very Hungry Caterpillar the much-loved Very Hungry Caterpillar character appears for the very first time in fully interactive 3D form. Children can nurture, feed, care for, and play with their very own caterpillar in a beautiful 3D environment based on the classic illustrations of Eric Carle. The app delivers a wonderful new experience for the millions of fans of this classic book, first published 45 years ago, and has topped app charts in 30 countries around the world, including the UK, Germany, Japan, France and Italy.

“Everyone in StoryToys is incredibly proud and grateful to have received this recognition from the Bologna Ragazzi jury” said Emmet O’Neill, Chief Product Officer of StoryToys. “Our team did an amazing job building this wonderful app, supported at every step by our partners from The World of Eric Carle and the Joester Loria Group.

We always believed that we had created something special with My Very Hungry Caterpillar. We wanted to create an immersive, personal experience that helped children to connect with Eric Carle’s iconic character in a new way. It is very gratifying to have our work recognised by such a renowned organisation as the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

I believe this app demonstrates how the creative use of technology can bring magical new experiences to the children’s publishing industry.”

My Very Hungry Caterpillar can be downloaded from the App Store.

Stay tuned for more tech buzz.

Vine goes kid friendly with the Vine Kids application by @jimboireland #VineKids #Apps #Kids

Vine has been a quite popular application which is owned by twitter and began in 2012 with an estimated audience of 40 Million,Vine lets users be creative by users posting 6 second video clips which you can pause and start within that 6 seconds,its quite good and there is some real good Vine accounts that shows how creative people can be,i use it myself but not too often however i think its a good app.

 

Through adorable animated characters, kids can watch videos that are appropriate for a young audience. Swiping right or left shows a new Vine, and you can tap the screen to hear quirky sounds.

 

The idea came about during an office conversation in early January. One of my colleagues was talking about how much his two-year-old daughter loves Vine –– he said he wished there was a separate app she could use to more easily watch posts that are appropriate for kids. That week happened to be Hack Week, a time when we get to work on projects outside of our day-to-day work. So two folks teamed up and built exactly that. Here’s a Vine of my co-worker’s daughter using the app. How can you resist that smile?! Says Carolyn Penner from the Vine blog.

Vine Kids however is only Available on iOS for now and can be downloaded HERE this will surely keep those kids entertained for a while anyway.

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