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Tracking your Kids: Parents turn to fitness trackers to keep kids motivated and active

Kids need to stay active and on the move, so here are some high tech ways to keep them motivated!

On 10News Today, we've been airing a week full of information about tracking tools for parents to stay aware and up to date on what your kids are doing.

But how about kids who track themselves?

Activity trackers are so popular among adults and children are getting in on the game to.

“This is what my life looks like every day. My son running and running and running. He almost never sits down. Why you ask? He has a Fitbit clocking his every step," WBIR Anchor Abby Ham said.

Knoxville Sports Medicine Physician Dr. Kevin Sprouse says kids need to move.

“Physical activity is important for kids, adults, everyone. Metabolically it allows your body to perform well to avoid disease states, it’s just essential,”Dr. Sprouse said.

According to the CDC more than a third of children are overweight or obese and physical activity is crucial in bringing these numbers down.

Keeping that in mind, activity trackers are a great way to get you kids motivated and staying active.

“If normally you get 3,000 steps a day and you start wearing a tracker your goal is 10,000 and you get 9,500 could seem like a failure but that’s a huge improvement,” Sprouse said.

Dr. Sprouse says there are negatives, though.

“For some, they spend too much time staring at it and it’s like a game or it can be discouraging to see those numbers.”

Parents can still take the lead on making sure their kids are using the activity trackers in a healthy way by encouraging them to get their 10,000 steps and creating friendly competition among family members.

“I think that it’s good as long as we as adults put it into perspective and frame it for them,” Sprouse said.

“Speaking as a parent I know this, my son has consistently gotten 15,000-20,000 steps a day since he got his Fitbit. And on Monday, he got 30,000 after walking Lakeshore Park twice. So it’s been only a positive for us!” Abby said.

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