Thank you to Fooz Kids for providing me with an All-In-One pack to review. The opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint.
When I was a child, the internet didn’t exist. At least it didn’t in my home. We didn’t even own a computer until I was in high school, something that would shock most parents and children in today’s society. Today, we rely on “smart” phones to keep our schedules straight, navigate traffic, and text message family members. And the internet…what a vast space filled with knowledge and entertainment. I could spend hours keeping up with the latest on Facebook and Twitter, reading the daily news or my favorite magazine, or simply catching up on shows I’ve missed throughout the week.
The internet can also be a dangerous place, particularly for children and tweens. My four year old son, who may have the dexterity to play games on the computer with daddy, doesn’t have the critical thinking skills needed to navigate and filter the good from the bad. So without any real control over what website he’s clicking on, the hubby and I don’t feel comfortable leaving him alone online for a second.
Photo Credit: Fooz Kids
While I was at BlogHer, I met some of the representatives from Fooz Kids, a downloadable application that provides a safe Internet environment for children within parental confines. I didn’t have a lot of time to chat with the representative, so I joined Fooz Kids in LA last weekend for a Beach Party where they were demonstrating the application.
Designed for children ages 3-8, Fooz Kids gives children access to games, crafts and other content specifically featuring their favorite characters. For example, my son can decide he wants to explore the Dinosaur Train website, color a picture of Curious George, or play the Wonder Pets Phone Game, and it’s all accessible to him via the application. The application gives children access to a wealth of interesting, engaging, and even educational content, all determined by parents. What it doesn’t give children access to are websites that might be too mature or inappropriate.
Once you’ve downloaded the application (there is a one-time fee of $11.99), you must determine which content you want your child to have access to. Do you have more than one child? You can set the limits for each child and they can be different based on their ages. The process of navigating through the content (websites, videos, games, crafts) is long, but the end result is so worth it. The reason why it’s so involved is the fact that each website, game, video and craft have an age range and are categorized by gender. You simply go through the list (which in some cases is 23 pages long!) and enable or disable each one.
Beyond the entertainment value, there is a social component that enables children to add friends and then interact via email (or even better, video mail). Parents have complete control over who their child is communicating with and can monitor all activity from the dashboard.
Along with enabling access to kid-friendly websites, games, videos, and crafts, children can create their own avatar and customize a virtual bedroom which allows children to feel like this is “their” thing (rather than their parent’s).
Fooz Kids also offers a variety of add-ons (which require an additional fee) including University which offers age-appropriate lessons on shapes, numbers, and more. Parents can track their child’s progress and work on those areas that may need to be developed. I am going to begin asking my son to do one lesson before “playing” since he just started pre-K and I want to get him ready for next year.
My favorite add-on feature is the Kids Flix section which allows parents to download short and full-length movies. If we had a tablet, I’d use this when we travel with the kids.
While we were at the beach last weekend, my son spent a ton of time navigating through the application. Touch screen computers were available which made it very easy for my son to navigate. At home we have laptops so I have to assist him until he becomes familiar with navigating a keyboard.
Overall, I am impressed with how much freedom the application grants children within the confines of the parental dashboard. Since I am the one who set it up, I feel comfortable leaving him unsupervised (whether or not he’s going to destroy the computer is an entirely different issue!).
Please click here to learn more about Fooz Kids. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. #cleverfooz
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