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BAM! Body and Mind

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 0, age appropriate for kids over 7; suggested age 9.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    CDC's kids' site explains the science behind health advice.

On this site kids can:   do activities, do research, get news, learn about a specific topic, play games

Why We Rated This on for Ages 9 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Biology is explored through real-life scenarios and visitors can learn about how the body's immune system protects it from disease. This lesson uses an animated tutorial, making the immune system into easily identifiable superheros (the Immune Platoon) and bacteria and viruses into the evil villains. All types of medical and lifestyle advice is given, along with information on related careers.

  • Messages:

    The site encourages kids to be healthy and examines health threats such as smoking and dangerous diets. Dissecting imaginary magazines, the site shows kids how advertising can sometimes promote unhealthy lifestyles in order to sell products. Health advice like sanitary locker-room practices are backed up with straightforward scientific facts covering dangers like germs and fungus.

  • User-created content:

    Kids can share their positive health experiences in the Braggin' Rights feature. These posts are screened by the site's administrators before they are posted and only include a user's initials, not full name.

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.

  • Sex:

    Not an issue.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.

How safe is it?

  • Personal privacy:

    No information is collected about users.

  • Online interaction:

    Not an issue.

  • Parental controls:

    Not an issue.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of BAM! Body and Mind was written by Jacqueline Rupp

Parents need to know that this government-run site is commercial free and doesn't accept any advertising. The site covers all the health advice that parents are always trying to impart to kids, like the importance of hand-washing before eating, but in a no-nonsense scientific fashion that will probably drive the lessons home. The site doesn't just say why it's a good idea to wash your hands, it illustrates the face with pictures of the germs that could try to infect your system. Because the site does cover diseases and scientifically explains birds dying from West Nile Virus and the effects of nasty bugs like tetanus on a body's system, younger kids should probably have some guidance on the siteh.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about food and nutrition. What types of foods do you see advertised the most while you are watching TV? Do you think healthy foods are as fun as junk food? How can you make nutritious food into appealing meals?
  • What steps do you take to stay healthy? Do you sometimes get mixed messages from the media about what is healthy?
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More on BAM! Body and Mind

Is It Any Good?

Information about healthy habits isn't  hard to find. But BAM! BODY AND MIND, the Center's for Disease Control's kids' site doesn't stop there. This site takes visitors on a behind-the-headlines tour of the action and adventure with activities like Operation Infection Detection where you can learn from real-life scientists as they track, treat, and control diseases. There's no shortage of advice to take away though, as kids can get a full-serving of nutrition information (including kid-friendly recipes), safety tips, and even media awareness information, which puts a spotlight on advertising that targets kids' vulnerabilities. To round things out there's a comprehensive fitness department that offers an interactive activity log and run-down of nearly 30 possible activities to try out, everything from Frisbee to martial arts.
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