Parents are praising the smartphone game “Pokemon Go” for getting their teens out of the house to catch all of the Jigglypuffs and Magmars they can.

Their mission is to try to catch all 151 species of Pokemon, which are hidden in the game’s virtual world, but appear on a player’s screen when they walk around in the real world.

One Texas dad says his sons have played the game almost every day since its recent release.

[Read abouthow “Pokemon Go” has everyone exercising.]

Bob McDowell, father to Scott, 12, and rising high school freshman Sean, 14, says his sons rarely go out unless their parents take them somewhere. This is the first time they’ve had the desire to go outside and explore the world , he says.

McDowell says it isn’t nerve-racking, but exciting. “I want to see them become functional adults. So if this is how it happens, great.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children and adolescents spend at least 60 minutes each day doing physical activity. However, a 2015 survey administered by the federal government found less than a third of high school respondents engaged in rigorous physical activity in the seven days prior to the survey.

“It’s just mind-boggling to me, to see people who probably have been inside gaming, getting outside, getting more steps,” says Andy Horne, a health and physical education teacher at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.

He thinks it’s great whenever something can get young people to be more physically active.

Michigan mom Sue Lister said via email that while both her daughters, Maddie, 12 and Grace, 13, are active and athletic, “Pokemon Go” has propelled them to move more during off-sports hours.

“As much as I tried to convince Grace that she should be training more during the summer for the upcoming cross-country and basketball seasons, she was more inclined to sleep in and lounge on the couch during the days and times when she didn’t have practice,” said Lister, whose older daughter is a rising high school freshman. The game has motivated both of her daughters to get out in their community to join up with their peers for a fun, social game, with the added benefit of exercise.

But there have been some safety concerns for “Pokemon Go” players. Both McDowell and Lister have set safety guidelines for their kids.

Lister told her daughters not to join older people or kids they don’t know who tell them they are playing the game and to not split off into groups of just one or two people to find more Pokemon. McDowell told his sons not to leave the house to play without their phones being fully charged, and he uses the location services on their phones to keep an eye on them, among other precautions.

The excitement surrounding “Pokemon Go” among teens may remind some parents of other active games such as “Wii Fit” and “Dance Dance Revolution.”

However, Horne, who was also named the 2015 high school health education teacher of the year by the Society of Health and Physical Educators, doesn’t think those games had the same popularity or the potential to have as big of an influence on future active video games as “Pokemon Go” appears to.

Some Twitter users have compared the game to traditional physical education classes.

But Horne says the game isn’t a substitute for quality physical education.

Physical education is more than just being physically active, he says. It’s about developing a mindset that values health and physical activity throughout one’s life. It’s also about helping students develop the ability to move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities that benefit the healthy development of the whole person.

[Find outhow high school gym classes have gotten a 21st-century makeover.]

If “Pokemon Go” helps students make those connections, then he can view it as a win-win.

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