The number of social sites aimed at children under 13 is suddenly growing again. Now joining Everloop (which just raised another $3.1 million, TechCrunch reported), YourSphere (for young people under and over 13), and Togetherville.com (recently acquired by Disney) is WhatsWhat.me. National Geographic-branded AnimalJam.com for kids 5-11 passed the 1 million player mark in a matter of months with … [Read more...] about U13s on social sites: Who’ll get the equation right?
kids
Social-emotional learning ups academic performance
Right from the proverbial horse's mouth, so hear this: that social and emotional learning (SEL) has brought academic gains "that equal the results of many programs focused exclusively on academics ... is one of the most important findings from a far-reaching review of social and emotional learning programs for which I was the principal investigator," writes author and retired psychology professor … [Read more...] about Social-emotional learning ups academic performance
Togetherville a great acquisition for Disney
Disney's smart to acquire Togetherville, which I called social-networking training wheels for families last spring, when the kids' social site launched. Why families and not just kids? Because kids under 13 hardly need training in online socializing – most start that at young ages, in online games and virtual worlds (like Disney's Club Penguin, which it acquired from a smart Canadian startup in … [Read more...] about Togetherville a great acquisition for Disney
2 new kids’ social spaces: ToonsTunes, Scuttlepad
One is both feature- and media-rich, the other plain & simple. Both aimed at under-13s, they're social in different ways (one a virtual world, the other a social network site). Toonstunes.com Surfing through ToonsTunes's information pages, demo videos, and kid-created music videos indicates to me that this is a great addition to the kid virtual world lineup – especially for young music … [Read more...] about 2 new kids’ social spaces: ToonsTunes, Scuttlepad
Kids under 13 prefer face-to-face play: Study
"Playreport," a new Ikea-sponsored survey of parents and kids (7-12) in 25 countries found that "kids overwhelmingly prefer playing with their parents (73%) over watching TV and using the Internet." They even more overwhelmingly prefer playing with their friends (89%), but parents did come in second, with Internet and TV coming in a distant 3rd and 4th (14% and 11%, respectively). The children … [Read more...] about Kids under 13 prefer face-to-face play: Study