Club Penguin is a snowy virtual world inhabited by a sea of multi-colored penguins. Established in 2005, the growing virtual world was purchased by Disney in 2007. It continues to do well and has a loyal user base.
What Kids Love About Club Penguin
Kids love penguins, so Club Penguin is already one step ahead of the game. The virtual world also has a nice balance of chat areas, games and special activities to keep kids engaged. It's colorful and creative with activities that appeal to a wide variety of personalities (including many adults).
Club Penguin strives to create a strong sense of community. They host contests, promotions and charitable events. Kids can feel good about their online play while making new friends.
Club Penguin strives to create a strong sense of community. They host contests, promotions and charitable events. Kids can feel good about their online play while making new friends.
What Parents Love About Club Penguin
Under the Disney umbrella, Club Penguin strives to be a safe, positive spot for kids and families. The basic rules users must agree to speak to that fact:
- Respect other penguins.
- No inappropriate talk.
- Never reveal your personal information
- No cheating.
- choose between a "safe" chat mode (canned messages only) or free chat
- designate the time of day/length of time kids can be on Club Penguin
- change the child's password
- view account activity
What's Not So Loveable
Residing in a popular virtual world has its drawbacks. The primary one is overcrowding. If you log on during popular times of day, you'll find yourself drowning in look-alike penguins. For younger kids, new members and folks like me, it's a bit overwhelming. It's hard to read the names of each penguin, and the chat becomes hard to read and follow.
The biggest complaint I have about Club Penguin is that many of the popular features are for members only. For example, although you can customize the color of your penguin, you can't dress him/her unless you have a membership. Non-members stand out like a sore thumb. Luckily, there are a lot of them! I accept that there may be premium features on a site, but I prefer for the difference between members and non-members to be a bit less glaring.
One other thing parents should note is that there have been complaints that the open chat can be inappropriate. Kids are creative about expressing themselves in ways that bypass filters and moderators. With the new limited chat option, this isn't as much of an issue, but I wouldn't recommend open chat for young kids.
The biggest complaint I have about Club Penguin is that many of the popular features are for members only. For example, although you can customize the color of your penguin, you can't dress him/her unless you have a membership. Non-members stand out like a sore thumb. Luckily, there are a lot of them! I accept that there may be premium features on a site, but I prefer for the difference between members and non-members to be a bit less glaring.
One other thing parents should note is that there have been complaints that the open chat can be inappropriate. Kids are creative about expressing themselves in ways that bypass filters and moderators. With the new limited chat option, this isn't as much of an issue, but I wouldn't recommend open chat for young kids.
The Bottom Line
With the addition of new parental controls and chat options, Club Penguin is a positive place for the whole family to play. Parents will still have to deal with requests for paid memberships, but can at least be assured that their children won't be logged on all day and night!
Club Penguin is geared for ages 6-14 and is free for basic registration. Memberships start at $5.95 a month.
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Club Penguin is geared for ages 6-14 and is free for basic registration. Memberships start at $5.95 a month.
Visit http://familyinternet.about.com/od/websitesforkids/fr/clubpenguinrev.htm for more Info!
Don't Forget to share your opinion with us!
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