Over the holidays I taught my grandmother how to play skeeball on my brother's Wii. She got the hang of it rather quickly but had to take a break after every round or two to rest & recover. What seemed like a rather small amount of activity to an exercise nut like me could be a healthy amount of activity for a wheelchair-bound senior.
The idea of seniors using the Wii to stay active is picking up a lot of momentum. Residents of the Lilac Plaza Retirement Community in Spokane sold recipe boks in order to raise enough money to buy one, only to have it stolen out of their rec room. Luckily you and I aren't the only ones who felt outrage at this and it looks like they'll get at least one replacement courtesy of RawmeatCowboy on the GoNintendo blog.
But that makes me think... there are lots of seniors out there who could benefit from a bit of entertainment and movement. Is there a local center or a relative who you could help? I'm looking into options for my grandmother's retirement community. Some government-funded senior centers are using wellness grants to buy systems. Nintendo donated 15 Wiis to the Erickson chain of retirement communities according to this article. I'll post a follow-up once I figure out what's possible for my grandmother.
The good folks at Nintendo are already considering more fitness options for Wii owners. Check out the WiiFit at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlOG3PM_xHA.
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