Recently my 8-year-old begged me to join Club Penguin. If you’ve never heard of Club Penguin, don’t worry. Neither had I. When my son described it I thought it sounded a lot like a little kids’ Facebook.
FRIGHTENING!
When I checked it out, though, I discovered it’s a bunch of penguin avatars waddling around, playing games, making friends, and visiting each others igloos. I also discovered the following facts:
1. It’s owned by Disney
2. It’s big on parental controls
3. There is an Ultimate Safe Chat option you can install
I added a little security of my own, too. After allowing him to join, I instructed him to select the name of his penguin avatar from the following Experienced-Bad-Mom-approved suggestions:
Don’t_Even_Think_About_It
Stay_Away_Scumbag
My_Dad_is_Chuck_Norris
or
Bugger_Off (a nod to my Australian and English friends)
I won’t tell you which one he picked, because then all you crazy people might go to Club Penguin, look him up, and try to circumnavigate the Ultimate Safe Chat. If you do that, know this: I will hunt you down and beat you up with my fists and my acerbic wit.
How are you keeping yourself and your family safe on the big, bad internet?
I know which name I'd choose. And your acerbic wit might be the better weapon than your fists. Fun post.
It can definitely be a Scary Place! Glad it came After my children were raised…there were enough things to deal with Before! True, that we'll do ANYthing to protect Our Precious Ones – as we teach them how to cope with The World Out There!