Club Penguin


Club Penguin

Club Penguin

Imagine a snow-covered wonderland populated by colourful, animated penguins. A virtual playgrounds where millions of children from around the globe gather online to interact with friends, explore, play games and let their imaginations soar. Club Penguin is that place.

Create a penguin and waddle around the island of Club Penguin, engaging in a variety of fun and imaginative activities. Chat with your friends, join an ice hockey game or participate in a friendly snowball fight. Don a costume and take the leading role in the latest stage play or test your pizza-making skills at the Pizza Palor. There's always something exciting happening in the Club Penguin virtual world, with a new content, such as games and theme parties, added every week. And you can use the coins you earn through game play to design the perfect igloo and create hundreds of outfits for your penguin.

With its continually evolving content, third-party advertising-free environment and proven commitment to safety, the virtual world of Club Penguin ™ offers fun for kids and peace of mind for parents.

 

Susan McLean explained that it 'the issue with Club Penguin and every single thing on the internet is that 99% of parents do not understand that the other little penguin can be anyone. Club Penguin was a game on its own, privately owned before Disney bought it several years ago; the Disney brand evokes a sense of security and safety in people. People are incredulous when I say -I can play Club Penguin' and they say -No, no, it's a game for little children' and I respond -Who said'?

There are a lot of things you can do to make it safer and that is of course sitting with your child. Club Penguin is not necessarily one of the most dangerous things online but I was on Club Penguin last week and I read the page for parents and you have a former police officer from Vancouver who says 'I love recommending Club Penguin" then you have a mother who says 'I never worry about what my child is doing when they're on Club Penguin" but that is poor parenting in the extreme because cyber bullying occurs on Club Penguin. Any group of young children will tell me that they have been bullied on Club Penguin. 99% of parents do not understand that a pedophile could be the other penguin because they do not understand the reality. This is the case for all games that children play it is a fact that anyone can be anyone online; this isn't like older computer games were you put a disc in and you play it on the interface of the computer, the games are on the internet and children are interacting with random people.

A common situation is when someone asks -Did you say your name was Sally?' and of course the young child will say -Oh no, no, my name is Mary' and that is how they get information. It can go as far as -Oh, that's right you go to St Francis' and the young child responds -Oh no, no, I go to St Peters'. Young children can give out information without realising what they are doing.

Club Penguin is certainly -safer' than a lot of other places but it is not 100% safe. I would love Disney to come out and explain that they do everything they can and Club Penguin is as safe a place that you will find for your children however you must understand there are dangers in all areas of the internet. I am happy to say that Club Penguin has fabulous in-build safety features, which it does, but parents need to acknowledge that there is potential problems because if you don't it gives a false sense of security. I am not saying don't let you children play Club Penguin because it is a lot of fun and kids in their school play it but parents need to keep an eye on what they're actually doing. The biggest thing is that most parents do not know that anyone can play Club Penguin; you cannot age or identify anyone online, it is a physical impossibility. I can be whoever I want to be and go wherever I want to go online and so can anyone else."

For more information please see: https://www.female.com.au/susan-mclean-teaching-and-protecting-kids-online-interview.htm

Key Features

  • Play Games- Club Penguin's single and multi-player games are fun for all ages. By playing games, players accumulate coins they can use to buy items to dress yup their penguin and design their igloo. Virtual coins can also be donated to show support for Club Penguin's charitable/community initiates and special campaigns.
  • Learn and Grow- On Club Penguin, children practice reading, develop keyboarding skills and participate in creative role playing. By accumulating and spending their virtual coins Club Penguin players practice maths and learn about money management.
  • Explore and Create- Club Penguin is packed with surprise, secrets, and seemingly endless opportunities to explore and be creative.
  • Chat- Club Penguin offers two chat options: Ultimate Safe Chat limits what users can say to a predefined menu of greetings, questions and statements, as well as emotes action and greeting cards. When it comes to chatting, these users can only see other Ultimate Safe Chat messages. Standard Safe Chat allows players to type their own messages. Every message is filtered and monitored by a group of trained staff to allow only pre-approved words and block attempts to communicate a phone number or other personally identifiable information.
  • Become a Member- Club Penguin is free to play, but special features such a priority access, exclusive parties and opportunities to creative, discover and play in new and exciting ways require a membership. Membership costs $6.95AU per month, but reduced rates are available with six-month or one-year subscriptions. By financing our operations through paid subscription memberships, Club Penguin can maintain its commitment to creating a fun and safe online entertainment experience with no third-party advertising.
  • Join a Community- The Club Penguin virtual world belongs to the children who play there. Players are encouraged to be stewards of the island and can apply to be tour guides or secret agents, who get access to special items and secret mission adventures.

    Background:
    In March 2005, the founders of Club Penguin set out to create an ad-free, virtual world where children could play games, have fun and interact. As internet specialist and parents, they wanted Club Penguin to be a place they'd feel comfortable letting their own children and grandchildren visit.

    After months of consolation, research and testing, Club Penguin opened to the public in October 2005. Thanks to great reviews from players and parents, word quickly spread. In August 2007, Club Penguin joined the Walt Disney Company in a partnership designed to provide access to unprecedented resources and unique development opportunities. Club Penguin is privileged to be part of the Walt Disney Company, which shares it unwavering commitment to creating a fun and safe online entertainment experience for children and families.

    Club Penguin is passionate about community engagement and works hard to foster a culture of giving, both in the virtual world of Club Penguin and within the company. Club Penguin, a division of Disney Online Studios Canada and a part of the Disney Interactive Media Group, is headquarter in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, with staff also located in Brighton, England, Sydney, Australia and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The virtual world is available to play in English, Portuguese and French.

    www.clubpenguin.com
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