A parents’ guide to online role-playing games
admin | February 13, 2009 | no comments
When my 11-year-old twins, Katie and Megan, asked to check out something called “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games,” I realized that my years of playing Space Invaders no longer counted as expertise. At these increasingly popular interactive Web sites, such as Club Penguin (below), thousands of kids meet to play games or do battle and send messages to one another (known as chatting) – all under the guise of animated alter egos. To understand what goes on while playing, I decided the girls and I should try some games together. To my relief, I discovered that most sites offer different levels of safe chat – set lists of phrases players pick from or filters that screen out inappropriate words. Many also offer “open chat” (kids can type what they want to say) with parental permission. Here are the three sites we liked best, plus a few pointers I gathered along the way.
GETTING STARTED
-When you register, most games require a screen name or user name. Make sure your child selects one that is not her actual name – or anything even close. And consider using the same one on each site so you won’t have to keep track of multiple names. -Help your child select a password and teach her to keep it to herself. This is the “key” that protects any online prizes or rewards her character earns or gathers in a game (accessories, pets, jelly beans) and should be shared only with parents. -Remind your child not to share any sort of identifying information when chatting with online friends, including her name, phone number, e-mail address, street address, school, or sports teams. -Teach your child to come to you immediately if anything happens online that makes her uncomfortable. You should also familiarize yourself with the system each game has in place for reporting bad behavior (swearing, bullying) by other players.SITE: CLUB PENGUIN
One of the first role-playing sites for kids, Club Penguin is a waddle-about arctic environment for multitudes of colorful birds. Players can take their penguin alter egos sledding, start a snowball fight, head to the disco, and basically hang out together online.Category: Games News
