Letting children use the computer to go online can be a bit of a worry for any parent.
So when my eight-year-old daughter Amber told me about Disney’s site www.clubpenguin.com I checked it out.
What I found was a website she can use safely and gain computer skills while having fun at the same time.
Club Penguin is a snow-covered virtual world where children can play games and interact with friends in the guise of colourful penguin avatars.
With more than 175million users worldwide, Club Penguin is designed for six to 14-year-olds.
I visited the Club Penguin HQ in Brighton and was reassured to see web moderators watching over players with strict rules to keep children safe.
Head moderator Simon Pollard showed us how a player asking another for personal information such as: “What is your real name?” is flagged up. Inappropriate behaviour results in a ban.
There are two chat options for children to talk to other penguins. Ultimate Safe Chat offers a set menu of greetings, questions and statements. Players see only messages from other Ultimate Safe Chat users.
The Standard Safe Chat allows children to type their own messages to other players. Each one is filtered to flag up anything inappropriate.
Parents can set limits for when and how long the child plays.
Playing, exploring and chatting is free. For special features you need membership which costs £4.95 a month.
Members get priority access and invitations to special exclusive games.