All About Kids Website Club Penguin
86What is Club Penguin?
Club Penguin is a gaming and social networking site for kids started in October 2005 by two fathers in British Columbia, Canada. The target audience 8-14-year-olds create a virtual life online, earning coins to purchase clothes, toys, and play games. They also interact - including romantically. They initiate relationships and practice breakups all without setting eyes on the beloved as there are no pictures or other identifying information allowed.
Aside from the gaming aspect, the biggest difference between Penguin and its counterparts for older kids (i.e. MySpace) is the focus on safety. Other social networking sites are geared toward teens and young adults and encourage sharing personal details. Kids watch older siblings online and want to be just like them, so Penguin was created to give them a safe place to play.
Other sites are vying for your ‘tweens' attention. Kids can play on http://www.nicktropolis.com/, http://www.whyville.net/, and http://www.habbo.com/. One nice thing about Penguin compared to its competitor ‘tween gaming sites is that Penguin generates all its revenue from subscriptions, which means no advertising. Decide for yourself if it's worth shelling out the subscription fee, but when I checked out Habbo, a banner ad displayed across the top of the screen for a movie about a killer in suburbia! Good fun for kids.
Should I Let My Kid on Club Penguin?
If you decide Club Penguin is safe enough then you've got a different decision to make. It's not so different from PopTarts and Mario Brothers. You just have to decide how much is enough. There's only so much time in a day. After homework, a little exercise, a meal, and maybe some TV or video games, how much time is really left? Do our supposedly overscheduled children really need another time consuming (possibly addictive) activity? Only you can answer for your child.
Then again, it's a changing world. Online relationships are a new social reality and we may as well teach our kids to navigate them just as we guide their real life interactions. Because this is the new real life. At least for now.
Check out this Newsweek story for more information and examples of Club Penguin use.
Is Club Penguin Safe?
As far as the Internet goes, this is about as safe as it gets. Club Penguin developers have gone to great lengths creating sophisticated software to keep the bad guys out as well as prevent kids from giving out any kind personal information. In addition to the software safeguards, Penguin has a human moderator, who can be accessed if a player feels another player is inappropriate. However, I'm pretty sure those predators are sneaky enough to make a kid do anything but hit the ‘Help' button.
Added Bonus: Parents have a lot of control of what their kids can say and see on Penguin.
Club Penguin is being hailed as a good example of a safe place online for kids. And they have been awarded Good Housekeeping's kid's privacy seal of approval. However, there's always some element of risk. For example, kids could be invited/lured by their ‘friends' to other sites where less innocent chats are not so heavily monitored.
I had to pull my kids off it..it wasnt right for us..and the kids (or whoever) do actually get away with saying alot of things that would be considered inappropriate at our house anyway
In theory it's a good idea -- if only parents actually would monitor their kids online activities. A much better and safer way to educate and entertain kids is to give them the freedom to listen to stories on mp3 audio books. There's been a lot of research and studies supporting that both music, sounds and words have a much greater impact on learning while retaining more of what was learned for a longer period of time. In other words kids have fun and get much better results, go to: http://www.audiobookgiftshop.com
Ok well im a kid and I have a club penguin named SandCrystal and if any of you people think Club Penguin is a bad website, you are SO wrong because I have been in contact with them. They say that they have an advanced word filter. Im 12 and I have had my penguin for 2 years and I have been on almost every day. Out of all those days I have not seen or heard of one bad thing. And if something slips, someone will report them because all you have to do is click on them and there is a button that says REPORT. And then a moderater WILL suspend them. Check it out your self before you say anything bad.
OMG I caant beleve you think club penguin is a bad website! I have been a member for almost 3 years and I"m only 10 and my mom aproves of it! And I email them all the time and they dont do anything!!!!!!! From A CHILD P.S. PARENTS LET YOUR CHILDREN GO ON CLUB PENGUIN!!! ITS SAFE AND FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG I totally beleve sammy I have been a member on club penguin for almost 3 years and I have not heard one bad thing! And if some one does say something me or rude or something like that YOU CAN EASLY JUST CLICK ON THEM and you will see this little M click it click the thing they did that was wrong and the people who work for club penguin will check it out and they will bannn them if they did something bad. From A CHILD PARENTS!!!!!! LET YOUR CHILDREN GO ON CLUB PENGUIN ITS SAFE AND FUN I EVEN FEEL SAFE LETTING MY 7 YEAR OLD ON IT!!!!
It sounds like parents really need to decide for themselves. However, looks like Penguin is among the safest websites.
I have published parenting tips on my hub:
http://hubpages.com/hub/parentingtips
Would you people like to take a looK?
it is about as safe as safe could be and im only 9.
Club Penguin is not all that. While my dtr were with a sitter a few weeks ago, she(8 yr old) signed up for club penguin. She used my mother's email address which was written on a sheet of paper and then got in my desk for my extra credit card. Although she used the wrong first name on the cc , CP still accepted payment and started a premium membership. I didn't like CP to start with and put a stop to it before I even found out about the credit card charges because the chat is too flexible.
If you are looking for a safe web site for your children, buy them a webkinz, each webkinz(between 9 and 15 dollars) comes with a years membership and great features. You can do safe chat with pre-written phrases or safe chat without numbers and proper names, states, etc.... Safest site I have found. I do allow my kids to play on build-a-bearville too.
I also like Webkinz.
I have heard alot of bad word on club penguin. I do not let my child play on it.
Thanks for pointing this out. Sounds like a terrific site.
look... club penguin and other online virtual games are really bad!!!
children believe that this is the real world!!!!
a fake world.instead of going out with other REAL childen and play sports that are good for there health.
thank you.
i agree with zach,sammy,and hector.
clubpenguin is a place to chill out after school and have some fun! i todally disagree with??????! im a kid just like zach, sammy, and hector.I BELIVE THAT CLUBPENGUIN IS SAFE!
CP is fine, when I've got the time, I'll tell you why in detail
i really like club peinguin...im 12 and i go on every chance i am allowed to(after homework,etc.)!
its good
club penguin is all about fun.I used to chat with my friends in club penguin when i m free and it is nice to have parties in cp.I WOULD SAY THAT IS NOT A BAD WEBSITE. ALL THE BAD THINGS TAKES PLACE IN CP BUT MOST OF THE PENGUINS WONT REVEAL THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION SO I WOULD SAY THAT IT IS SAFE FOR GOOD CHILDREN. IF U DONT REVEAL UR PERSONAL THINGS U WILL FEEL THAT IT IS A VERY GOOD WEBSITE.MOSTLY THE PERSONAL THINGS U SAY TO OTHER PENGUINS WONT APPEAR ON THE SCREEN OF PERSON TO WHOM U R SPEAKING IN CP,SO NO PROBLEM TO BE A PART OF CP.SO PARENTS ALLOW UR CHILDREN TO JOIN CP AND ALLOW THEN TO ENJOY. BYE BYE
Hello Lela!
I haven't tried using Club Penguins, yet. I bet it will be an interesting site for kids. By the way, I have also a site--> http://www.manydressupgames.com
It's a collection of dress up games for kids! definitly fun and free. Hope you can visit some time!
This seems like a really great idea! I'm sure that 99% of the problem with safety on the internet is that parents really have no idea what their kids are getting up to. In fact they have no idea what can happen on the internet. I'm pretty sure that this is simply down to education - there is no real campaign to help parents realise the possible negatives the internet has to offer. I suppose by the time this generation of teenagers grows up - they'll have a much better idea of what's going on than their parents know now and hopefully things will improve a great deal then.
Im 11 and I play on CP everyday. It's rare for me to come across something bad and I have been playing for 2 years. I once saw someone replace bad words with ryming words though.
this clubpenguin is terrible! these people try to have sex with my daughters penguin! they say do you want to make a baby or want to do the do? It disturbs me! they also take their clothes off and say " oh yes baby, like that, it feels good, or kiss my bottom, or grab my balloons! it disturbs me!
brilliant really safe best game ever anyone thinks its rubbish is bonkers
i dont play on CP any more but i used to lola i agree some ppl do that to me but i report them and tell my parents CP i not that safe and i am 12
yep not that safe
I have a club penguin account and I like it a lot. I play with all of my friends online, and I rarely talk to strangers. I have never seen any of that sexual stuff. But when your penguin becomes 3o days old, you can take a quiz to become a Secret Agent. The answers to the quiz are very easy. The PSA (Penguin Secret Agency) encourages the kids to watch out for bad things, and to report anyone if they do anything bad (not to mention the awesome secret missions they allow you to do.) I think it is safe. The only problem I have is that some sick people hack into it and make "bots". It doesn't do any harm, but they disturb me. But they are rare, and the Club penguin Team is working on demolishing the hackers. It is very safe.
if you think club penguin is not safe you are crazy i've been on for almost a year and nothing bad has happened and about the sex thing its called "tum tum" and they dont "do" eachother to have the baby in roleplay they just do this
"baby comes out tum tum"
simple
its nothing it just say lis have a baby and thats it and pepole macks hospital for the baby but it just wrighting and its like playing with a doll house duh no one knows and am 11
CP IS GOOD
I have been playing Club Penguin for more than one year, going on at least three servers a day for a half-hour in each and i have never seen someoneuse even stupid
Okay - so in the spirit of full disclosure, I have let my son join CP. He and his friend talked me into it when they said it was 'Webkinz for boys.' I'll let you all know if I see anything I don't like!
i love clubpenguin
cp is safe and u guys must not be watching ur kids to be saying that because before u make it u kan click on safe mode durrr and u dont have to be complaining and crying about how bad it is and if u have somthing to say then say it!!!!!
I seriosly cannot believe that u think club penguin is bad!!!! I love that website and have never, EVER seen bad language or meanness (is that even a word? lol) . I totally disagree AND I'M ONLY TEN!!!!!!
i let all my kids on it i even play its cool
Hey. i love clubpenguin!Its not a bad website for kids TRUST ME!!!!
IF YOU WANT BAD HABBOS BAD IT HAS GAY CLUBS AND LESBO CLUBS AND THEY CUS ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!NEVER GO ON IT!
how do club penguin work!
my team believes that club penguin is a well secured and monitored virtual reality game. we tested it's filters are self's we can insure your kids will be safe. we said every thing in the book even address, mother, father and phone... bassically anything to do with actual reality cant be said. like even home work wont go through it will be displayed on your penguins screen but will be denied access to the sever. witch there for will not be displayed on your child's screen.
I have been playing cp for almost 3 years! it is very safe! But lola There is SOME pervs That do perverted things! but anyway it is safe!
I think the site clubpenguin is a safe site for kids im nine and i play it and they have a monater on club penguin too so if your kid or somone els sed a swear it will ban your penguin from club penguin.its a kids privet wourld for kids.
OK guys club penguin is safe! onnce it had a coins for change donatin on december! penguins(people)who did that help kids affored docters and for kids who were hurt in war etc also if you say a bad word your banned unless it was a mistake its all safe in club penguin!
There is way too much flirting and the Pizza Parlor is a pick up place.
If club Penguin is a safe website for children, why doesn't it work with the high level of web restriction enabled?
The high level web restriction is designed to block all web content except websites approved for children.
i just got kicked pf clubpenguin forNO REASON. i dont think club penguin is right and im a kid. ppl on clubpenguin are making replace ment words for the wons they cant use. like swear words.i got kicked of for no reason . they should makethere site a little more safe. somethings arent always safe.
club penguin is safe i go on it mostly everyday.
and if anyone swears on there other penguins cant even see it.because they get banned right when they say it.
P.S. its called club penguin not penguin
some of u people are really mean clubpenguin is one of the most safe website nothing bad can happen the clubpenguin review team looks at if people are doing bad things or not every day !
i have played almost 4 years now. i dont really get on anymore because Disney purchased it but its safe. If you purchase membership yeah you will probably get bored after a year but its worth it. (im 13 now)
-matt.
Club penguin is the best game and website ever made!
i luv cp
it is ever so safe. i dont know why you peeps are complaining
i have been a member for ages!!
iv got club penguin and im 10 club penguin rules and iv had it for nealy 5 years and i love it and im a member i begged my mum to have a member ship for my penguin
Club penguin is musch safer than many other websites, they have real live moderators a way to "flag" penguins as inapropriate, if all else fails, there is still an "autoban" if kids say bad things on penguin, unlike poptropica, webkinz, or miniclip (maybe) there is no lure to buy things like the ganz estore, or poptropica's ever so annoying advertising. and about "tum tum" people could actually ban these creeps.
Like everything, there are downs, such as the membership, (decide if you want to buy a membership) and there is also some kind of pregnancy thing called "Tum Tum", people can also lure kids into poptropica, or webkinz, or even a shoot em up game via chat. there are "bay bees", and penguin "dating" if you are worrying about this, just use ultimate safe chat, where the child could completely unknowingly not hear these messages.
Club penguin has no advertising, it generates revenue by "memberships" in which you do not have to get, it just unlocks special features
i would play it if they wouldn't keep telling me:
COME BACK IN 10 MINUTES
riki says:
2 years ago
hi lol idk wut to say lov club penguin but hey im 11
hav you seen ross wow does he hava dirty mouth!!