SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR KIDS

Top 3 Kid-safe Social Networks
By helle Hainer
Every Day Connected

When Rachel Sarah of Oakland, Calif., first heard about Club Penguin, a social networking site for kids, she had no idea what it was. "My daughter kept asking me if she could use it," recalls Sarah. Not sure whether her daughter, who's under 13, was too young to be on the Web, Sarah decided to check it out herself. "There aren't any ads, and the site seems really fun and innocent," says Sarah.

But how can you be sure a site is really what it seems? We’ve done the legwork for you and found the top three social networks for kids. Here’s how they keep kids entertained while making their safety a top priority:

CLUB PENGUIN
Kids are given a penguin avatar that can interact with the other penguins on the site, play games and earn coins to buy accessories for their penguin or furniture for their igloo. Membership is $5.95 per month for premium access, which allows kids to customize their penguins.

    Age group: 8 to 14, although older kids can join too. Parents register kids who are under 13.

    What kids love: The penguins are simple and cute. Kids can get creative when customizing the look of their penguin and igloo, and meet other penguin friends for coffee or tea.

    Privacy and safety features: Parents can choose between the Standard Safe-Chat, which allows kids to type their own chat messages, or Ultimate Safe-Chat, which restricts them to prewritten words or phrases, like "Hello" or "What's up?" "Club Penguin has really strong filters, so you won't need to worry about kids swearing or going crazy," says Anastasia Goodstein, author of Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online.

MY THOUGHTS

I hope moms and dads with kids under 13 would check out these sites.