Club Penguin

My niece and I recently joined Club Penguin, which is a kid-friendly online community, filled with games, chat and fun.

Members "waddle" around as a penguin, playing games and chatting with other members. The chat options are safe, as parents decide what level of communication their child can participate in. Pre-selected phrases, such as "yes", "no", and "How are you?" are accessible from a drop-down menu for members to use. Some members have full access chat, which allows them to type whatever they want to say, but even members who are too young to have full access can have fun conversations with other members by using the drop-down menu. The site is monitored for bad language and rude activity, and kids who abuse the site are banned.

Club Penguin is a free site; however paying members have access to upgraded functions, such as dressing their penguins and decorating their igloo homes. Kids earn coins by playing games and then redeem the coins for catalog items. The membership fee is reasonable, but even kids who don’t pay for membership can participate in games, parties and can earn free prizes for their penguin to display.

My niece is nine years old and I don’t get to see her very often because she lives on the East Coast and I live in Arizona. Club Penguin has provided us with a fun way to stay in touch.

If you have small children in your life, I highly recommend this site.