SuperBetter
By Erin Brereton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Develop, strengthen positive habits with motivating game.
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SuperBetter
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What’s It About?
Created with input from doctors, psychologists, scientists, game designers, and medical researchers, SUPERBETTER is part game, part healthy-living activity log, walking users through small, inspirational steps to encourage them to recover, both mentally and physically, from an illness, injury, or emotional setback. (Suggested options include "stress," "depression," and "working out.") It provides a daily to-do list of healthy-living tasks for each user and tracks success with motivating feedback. Power-ups, such as drinking a glass of water, are included for a feel-good boost; potential roadblocks, or Bad Guys (such as avoiding exercise), also are listed, with suggestions to help users break negative patterns. Kids can choose a particular challenge from a drop-down menu -- ranging from lowering stress to feeling more confident -- and list a reason why they'd like to feel SuperBetter.
Is It Any Good?
SUPERBETTER says its suggested site exercises are designed to boost physical, mental, social, and emotional resilience in 30 seconds or less, in turn strengthening your stamina, willpower, and focus. That may sound like a lot to accomplish in under a minute -- but when it comes to inventive, easy, feel-good activities and guidance, SuperBetter delivers.
The site is so packed with enthusiastic go-get-'em attitude that you can't help but feel a bit more excited after using it. Treatment of topics that could have a negative connotation, like losing weight, wisely avoid iffy territory by focusing on health aspects, instead of body image issues. And users also learn to identify and conquer negative influences, like shame, by ranking how well they battled it that day and how big an issue it is in their life. Still, even with all that constructive self-confidence instruction, parents may have some concerns about kids spending time on the site. You're supposed to be 13 to register; however, kids can easily get through the process if they aren't. It's also very easy to connect with complete strangers on the forums -- many of whom are adults; and some are not in a particularly positive place. As a result, some forum posts may contain content that's a little too intense for younger users.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can discuss healthy lifestyle choices. What current ones does your kid practice? How could your family improve its eating and exercise habits?
The site breaks lifestyle changes down into small daily tasks. Talk to your child about how large projects can be divided into parts to make them feel more manageable.
Website Details
- Subjects: Language & Reading: discussion, following directions, reading
- Skills: Self-Direction: achieving goals, identifying strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, Emotional Development: developing resilience, handling stress, moving beyond obstacles, Health & Fitness: balanced diet, exercise, mental health
- Genre: Gaming
- Pricing structure: Free
- Last updated: November 5, 2015
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