Neopets Rule OK!
One of my mechanisms for relieving stress is to play at a website called Neopets. My “pets” are now a few years old, and although I don’t visit them every day, they are there when I need something to divert my attention from work. At this site you create your “pet” and then earn points playing games and use the points to buy food, toys and other stuff. I’m not really into computer games because most of the ones in the shops involve shooting or some other form of violence, and that’s not for me. At Neopets however the games are of a different nature, some of them like arcade games, others more educational or skill-based. Despite my initial thoughts about it when I first visited the site a few years ago, I’m still there and love it.
A few days ago my eldest son was watching over my shoulder as I fed one of my “pets”. He wanted to know what it was all about. So I explained what the site was and how it worked, then demonstrated the kind of thing that members can do on the site. Naturally, he wanted a pet so we sat down to create him an account, and this is where the site really has an edge over other sites – if you are under 13, you can become a member, you can use the site for all things necessary for the upkeep of your pet, but you aren’t allowed to take part in forums and chat rooms. This means that it’s a really safe place for kids. The site allows members to send “gifts” (food or supplies of some description) to other members, and to trade items – but if you are a child member you aren’t able to access the trade page or receive items from other members. They are as protected as they can be in this kind of environment.
I’m impressed! I’m not easy to impress but this site has a well thought out policy when it comes to its younger members. It is possible to lift these restrictions of course, but only if the parents of the child physically fax (not email – fax) the appropriate release form to the site owners.
So my son is new fan of the site – he can’t read much yet and so he’s quite restricted in what he can do, but he’s have a great time. And the best part for me is being able to share something with him, whilst knowing he’s safe to be left playing at the site.