Keeping track of junior
Milo comes up with an activity tracker for kids that also monitors calorie intake and and offer professional tips on football tactics
PARENTS wanting to keep a close watch on their offspring’s diet and activity levels but don’t want – or can’t afford – to lay out a small fortune on an activity tracker will find exactly what they’re looking for in the Milo Champions Band.
Designed for kids between seven and 12 years old, the band works with an app from Milo that monitors activity and food intake.
Best of all, Milo Champions Band is affordable, selling for less than Bt1,000.
Milo has launched the band as part of its Champ Squad campaign, the global club for future football champs. It’s being sold as part of the Milo Champ Squad Starter Kit that includes the band and one pack of 15 packets Milo 3-in-1 instant chocolate drink.
Since, the Milo Champions app is part of the global Champ Squad campaign, the app can be used to watch video clips professional Brazilian footballer offering tips on the game by simply scanning the QR code on each Milo 3-in-1 pack.
To start using the app and the band, you must register for an account with Milo by using your email or your Facebook account. If you choose to use your email, you activate the account by clicking the link that will land in your inbox.
You then use the app to create a profile of your child by giving name, age and gender to the app. If you select an age younger or older than the 7-12 age range, the app will warn you to change. While kids outside that age group can of course wear the band, Milo stresses that the app is correlated to the nutrition values for kids within the range.
The app allows you to adjust the avatar of your child by selecting skin tone, hair colour, hairstyle, shirt style, shoes, pants, eyeglasses, wristband, and socks. After your child has progressed in activities, his or her level will increase and your child account will receive app “coins” to buy various items to jazz up his or her avatar. For example, when your child completes the daily goal of walking 13,000 steps, he or she will receive 500 coins.
You can also add friends to your child as a motivation to remain active. If you have more than one child, you can add several profiles to your account for monitoring your children.
The app is divided into two parts: one for the parent and the other for the child. The child’s part is for watching the videos of football tips and tricks, competing with friends and for tracking the progress and level of the avatar.
The part for the parent is for recording the food intake of your child and for designing menus to ensure a good balance between calorie burning and calorie intake.
The app also recommends the number of calories appropriate to your child’s age, height and weight as stated in the profile.
I was happy to note that the app has been localised for Thai food and that its interface is in the Thai language.
For example, when you select breakfast for your child, you’ll find a choice of fried pork with sticky rice, which has 549 Kcal. Other breakfast choices include fried chicken with sticky rice (507 Kcal), barbecued pork with sticky rice (317 Kcal) and boiled soy milk with fried Chinese dough (287 Kcal). A plate of cooked rice has 160 Kcal according to the app.
Choices for lunch include a bowl of noodle (349 Kcal), chicken fried with chillies and basil on rice (418 Kcal) and steamed chicken with rice cooked in coconut sauce (281 Kcal).
The app also allows you to record the snacks your child has taken, so it is really comprehensive in measuring calorie intake. The list of snacks on the app include toast with jam (137 Kcal), fried fish balls (179 Kcal) and an apple (101 Kcal).
The band has good battery life. It comes with a charging cable and it takes about two hours to recharge it for a full week’s use.
The band has 0.86-inch OLED display. You child can lightly tap the left side button of the screen to scroll through different functions: Time/Date, steps, Kcal burned, distance walked, active time and achievement.
The Milo Champ Squad Starter Kit has a box price of Bt1,200 but can be purchased at Lazada.co.th for only Bt899.
Key Specs
- Display: 0.86-inch OLED
- Band length: 19cm
- Weight: 33g
- Waterproof: No
- In the starter kit box: Milo Champions band, USB charging cable, 15 packets of 3-in-1 |Milo drink
