Kids are so much more advanced than we were growing up and so their experience of childhood is much more vast. In addition to playing outdoors, riding bikes, coloring and creative play that we grew up enjoying as children, kids today have computers, hand held games, ipods…etc. Their technology sometimes is even too advanced for their parents. But a good way to interact with our children is to support their quest for knowledge and understand some of the things that may seem out of our scope of understanding. One thing that boggles my mind is virtual worlds. A child can visit an online world where they can play games, create living spaces and interact with others online. While this new and advanced technology is exciting, it is also a little bit scary, so its best make sure that you are interducing your children to safe sites, where you know that they will be learning and also protected from online preditors.
About.com has a list of the top virtual world sites for children.
DISNEY’S CLUB PENGUIN
Club Penguin is a Disney owned virtual world that is totally safe for children. In this virtual world you can create a Peguin universe for your peguin, by creating a living space, buying it clothes and playing games. Also your child has a choice of different languages so if you want your child to learn a second language (useful if your child is in a dual language immersion program at school or there are two languages spoken in the home) you can play in different languages. The game costs $5.95 a month and is a great way to help support your child’s creative play and ability to use the computer and the internet.
SQUIDOO VIRTUAL WORLD INFORMATION PAGE
If you are a parent like me and felt a little lost surfing your child’s virtual world, you can use this helpful article http://www.squidoo.com/Virtual-Worlds-for-Kids to get a better understanding of virtual worlds and what purpose they serve for your children. As it is always a parent’s responsibility and right to decide what they think is best for their children, this article is very inclusive and gives parents a lot of insight into the benefits and dangers of your child’s involvement in their virtual communities.
SECRET BUILDERS
Secretbuilders.com is a world for children five years and older and allows the child to build a home, take care of a pet, interact socially with other characters, virtual shop and learn about historical characters. It also allows for the child to upload their own works of art to integrate into the site.
WHYVILLE
Whyville is another safe online world for kids seven years old and older. This free online virtual world helps develop children’s knowledge and education by placing them in different situations as a citizen of Whyville. Children learn math, art, economics and how to become socially responsible. This is a wonderful way to introduce your child to interactive learning.
WIGLINGTON AND WENKS
Wiglington and Wenks is a virtual world for children 7 to 14 that gives the player and opportunity to travel around the world and learn about different cultures and lifestyles while meeting historical figures and learning significant historical facts. The site is mostly free, but for $5.99/month your child can have access to all the features on the site.
Other great sites, which are more consumer based and connected are…
Webkinz
Webkinz world, can be accessed by obtaining a code on one of the many stuffed animals available for sale through the Ganz corporation.
National Geographic’s Animal Jam
Animal Jam is a website where kids create an animal avatar and explore natural environments and habitats.
BUILD-A-BEAR VILLE
Build a Bear has a virtual world game site where kids can create an avatar character and play games within the site.
BARBIE GIRLS
Barbiegirls.com is a place where girls ages 8 and up can play, by creating an avatar, dressing them up, take them places, make music etc. The site is mostly free with a few barbiegirl device options for optimum use.
