Confession time: I watch a lot of cartoons. I do! And lately, I’ve caught a series of commercials on Cartoon Network that led me to a new healthy website I want to share.
The commercials feature a big, kinda scary-looking guy talking about disease prevention — like sneezing into your sleeve or a tissue, washing your hands, and other tips. The commercials then suggest viewers find more health tips at BAM.gov. So I went to take a look!
The first thing I noticed? No scary bald guy. I kinda miss him, actually! The images on the site are bright and cartoony. Six different “xperts” offer advice and information about diseases, nutrition, safety, and more.
One thing I really like about this site? The “bragging rights” within each topic. Site users are invited to share their own experiences (no names attached, only initials and state for anonymity). Brags range widely in topic, from one kid talking about how he aced a health test to another talking about what it’s like to be hearing impaired. Brags are reviewed before posting for language and content, so you don’t have to worry about spammers or inappropriate postings.
I like the brags because I think it’s important to talk about your health! Reaching out — whether in person or online — gives you a chance to share your experiences and see what other people (of all ages) are going through. It’s encouraging to see what the BAM.gov users are learning, and how they’re triumphing over daily challenges.
BAM.gov also has games, quizzes, and a comic creator — where users can use pre-scripted dialogue to create a comic strip or do the writing themselves. It’s actually pretty fun! You get a variety of backgrounds, characters, and accessories to use to tell your story. The program gives you some suggestions for storyline, but you have the freedom to make an original story and print it out to show off to friends and family.
I had a lot of fun surfing BAM.gov (and I’m a big kid).
According to the “About BAM” section, the site was created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifically for children aged nine to thirteen. It addresses topics that children surveyed said were important to them, like stress and physical fitness. If you and your child are interested in health, BAM.gov is a good place to start!
Other healthy websites you might be interested in: VERBNow, WebMD, National Institutes of Health.