Club Penguin is Safe On-Line Fun

If you are searching for a safe website for your child to enjoy some safe fun, check out www.clubpenguin.com. It's an exciting virtual community owned by Disney. Kids have a blast playing the different games, completing missions, interacting, and selecting clothes and accessories for their penguin.

It is possible to visit the site and do many of the activities for free. For full access, a membership must be purchased. I have found that the membership is well worth the cost: $29.95 for 6 months.

When you first log onto the site, you select a penguin name and password. Then you are directed to a screen where you can select which server you want to play on. The server names are fun and memorable - in case your child wants to always play on a certain server to allow them to interact with friends' penguins. (Parka, Blizzard, Snowball, etc. are server names.)

After selecting your server, you can have your penguin wander around the community. Your penguin can dance, wave and throw snowballs. The penguins can also talk to each other. There are two modes for talking - one is ultra safe where you can only communicate by selecting pre-written messages. The other one allows you to type in messages. Disney does a good job of monitoring the conversations and players are also encouraged to report any inappropriate language as well.

There are many games and activities for penguins to do. Some favorites include the Pizza Shop where your penguin tries to create pizzas according to the orders that come in. Another is "Bean Counter" where your penguin has to catch bags of coffee beans that are thrown off of a truck. My three year old loves the "Sled Racing" games, and laughs hysterically when his penguin falls off his sled. The "Cart Surfer Game" allows your penguin to ride in a mine car and perform tricks in order to earn coins.

Coins can be earned by playing the games and are redeemed for accessories for your penguin and your penguin's igloo. Kids love dressing up their penguins and decorating their igloos. There are new catalogs issued every month containing new items that can be purchased. Some funny costumes, hats, and interesting decor items (TV's, fireplaces, jukeboxes) make for some fun shopping. Penguins can also have pets, which are little puff-balls called Puffles.

Club Penguin teaches kids responsibility and budgeting by requiring them to earn more coins to purchase items. Plus, if their penguin has a pet Puffle, they have to keep it fed, rested and clean.

All of kids, ages 9, 6 and 3, enjoy playing Club Penguin immensely. They have been able to interactively play with friends that we left behind when we moved cross country.

I am pleased with Disney's handling of the website as I emailed them once with concerns about one penguin's behavior. Disney reps responded quickly and the problem was rectified immediately.

For more information, check out ClubPenguin.com or the entry on Wikipedia.org.