New Toys To Get Kids Off Couch
Jackie Cron and her brother, Josh, know how to "hit it" into high gear while playing air hockey.
But, as CBS News Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reports, Jackie usually prefers to be on the computer or playing skateboarding games on her Xbox.
Asked if she'd rather play a skateboarding game on the computer or be on an actual skateboard, Jackie opts for the computer, "because it's easier."
She's not alone. Most kids spend more time playing in front of screens than in the front yard these days. Childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed, but toy manufacturers are now stepping up to the plate.
Kids are being pitched toys designed to get them off the couch, from redesigned baseballs that let anyone throw the way pros do to carpet-friendly skates.
Dr. Jim Levine, a childhood obesity expert, took to the halls of the International Toy Fair in New York with CBS News.
Asked if some of the toys will get a kid off the couch, Levine says: "It would get me of the couch."
Levine looked over the latest trend in toys aimed at kids with a mind to recline, from new video games that get you up to cartoons designed to turn your child into the next Tiger Woods.
"For a decade, we've used high-tech to throw our kids into their seats, to play video games, to play TV games and finally we are seeing the light," says Levine.
Industry analysts say toy makers have found they can add interactivity to a product, without tacking on too much to the price.
So what's wrong with existing bicycles, baseballs and bats?
"Nothing's wrong with it, it's just a different way of playing because kids are playing indoors more because of safety issues outside," says Reyne Rice, a toy trends expert. "So there's a lot more indoor, or in the back yard play."
High-Tech is also being used to re-invent old games like tag and spring new life into the standards.
"There is a paradigm shift," says Levine. "There is a possibility that the coolest toy next Christmas could be a toy that gets kids up and gets kids active, and that is actually what we need."
Levine hopes if we can just get our kids up, maybe their weight won't hit the ceiling.