Club Penguin, Animal Jam, Webkinz etc

[labdogs42]

Do your kids play any of these games? Animal Jam is one I just came across in National Geographic kids magazine. Of course, you can play for "free", but there are tons of things that are only for "premium" (paying) players. I'm wondering if it is worth the cost or if there is a free site that is just as fun. Or Webkinz, where at least you get a stuffed animal with your annual "fee". I don't know much about Club Penguin except that it seems similar to Animal Jam and also costs money. I'd love to hear some reviews of these sites or find out about better/cooler ones, too! I'm sure the DIS knows something about this!

 

[mom2val]

DD started on webkinz when she was in 1rst grade- she's in 4th now. Webkinz is a great site for kids to play on. The animal will give them a 1 year access to the website. There are "deluxe" memberships that you can pay for in addition to the animal you already bought. They are "kinda" worth it- kids get virtual gifts each month and points that can be saved for several months used to buy stuff like virtual animals or other items. But you do not need to get the deluxe membership - there is more than enough to do just with 1 animal. Walgreens often has packs of 2 animals - big and little one for $9.99! Really cheap way to get a child started and see if they like it or not.


DD has been on club penguin for 2 years. She loves it and we do have a membership but I made her play for 6 months without one just to make sure she really liked it. I have picked up several club penguin items from the Disney sale section at the Disney Store.com. There are codes in the merchandise that can be used to get more virtual stuff.

 

[palavra]

My DD plays on Jumpstart. We have a membership there. She loves it! It is very educational as well.

She also enjoys webkinz too.

 

[humalexis]

My DD9 likes webkinz and has been playing on it for at least 2 years. Lots of fun games and you have to earn money so you can buy your animal food clothes and even furniture for their house. She also plays on the build a bear website but not as much. Her other favorite is Poptropica. I think this is a free website but could be mistaken. I've never paid for it that I know of but she does play on it alot.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

My guys loved Webkinz, but grew out of it and once their accounts expired, they didn't renew. Same with Club Penguin, except they never paid for an account, just played with a free account for several years. Now they're into (also free) Roblox. There's always something!

 

[riley2008]

My 7 year olds play Toontown and have for at least a year. They have each have a membership which grandma pays - I think it's $59/6months. We do have the parental controls set as strick as possible - no open chat. I like it okay. (They want some of the war games that their friends play. I think this is a compromise - you kill cogs with gags.)

Both boys also have Webkins - they've had these since they were 4. (Their accounts expire 12/26 - we'll only renew if I can get the good deal at Walgreens.)

One of my boys had a paid Club Penguin account and again with strict parental controls. He had to pay for it. He chose not to renew it after 6 months - it was $29.95/6months.

Since we've started these things we have had to limit daily computer time. They are addicting.

 

[pookersmom]

My son loves Club Penguin. He's 9. He's had a membership for about 9 months. We pay monthly as we go so that if he gets bored we can just cancel. It's a little more expensive that when you add it all up, but I'm better able to face $5.95 per month than an annual charge all at once. I'm sure he'll lose interest in it eventually, but for now, he really enjoys it and I'm happy to pay for it because I'm confident that it's a safe place with lots of nonviolent games and things to do.

He also plays a lot on Build-A-Bear.com, which is all free (except the cost of the animal you made, of course).

There have been a couple of other places he's spent some time on that are "free" but are so ad-heavy that they don't run well and just end up frustrating everyone.