Parents often tell children to stop playing video games and go do their homework. But now children, and even grandchildren, are telling their parents to make sure they play video games every day.

Here's why.

Gloria Calhoun never thought she'd have her first boxing match at 76.

But the latest video game technology geared to the young is making its way into local gyms and senior centers. At Touro's Woldenberg Village on the west bank, seniors in occupational and physical therapy are learning that rehab can be more like recess.

 "Oh that was fun, it was it was. It was kind of exhausting, you know we get exhausted easily," said Shirley Akers, an 84-year-old resident of Woldenberg Village.

"Well it really stirred up my energy. Normally I would just be sitting and the team has been trying to encourage the motion in my arms because I've had a lot of surgeries here," says 76-year-old resident Gloria Calhoun.

The seniors participate in everything from boxing, bowling, baseball golf and tennis, and when the competitive spirit kicks in they forget they are working on balance or a body part that hurts.

"After you really get involved in it you forget the therapy part because I really wanted to knock that little guy out!" said Gloria, with a laugh.  

"You get even that little bit involved in the game and you want to be able to do it quickly and do it correctly," adds Shirley. 

The staff says these Wii video games also help speech therapy and cognitive functioning.

"It actually helps them to carry over those skills in to their activities of daily living so if they are able to move better and endure a task better then they are able to care for themselves better," says Touro Occupational Therapist Mary Green-Keys, the Rehab Supervisor at Woldenberg Village 

"I am upset with my lack of mobility and here it's encouraging me and stimulating me to more mobility you see this is a part of helping me to get out of my chair," says Gloria.

And while the upper body muscle and endurance work could one day lead to getting Miss Gloria to stand, maybe, just maybe, it will also help Miss Shirley understand her grandchildren and great grandchildren a little better.

"I wouldn't dare buy one because I'd be on the doing it all the time I'm afraid," said Shirley. "I think it's addictive!" 

"I think that this is the most rewarding population to work with  because when you see the gains and you can see them  getting back into their normal  routines and their quality of life it's just so much better," says Green-Keys. 

And a little adrenaline at any age never hurt anybody either.

Therapists say seniors are most likely to have physical problems for three reasons, an injury, a medical condition such as a heart attack or stroke, or from not continuing to exercise throughout life.