A few weeks ago, kids’ social gaming site Moshi Monsters reached 50 million registered users. While Moshi Monsters is more of a gaming site than a specific kids’ social network like imbee or Everloop, this is still a significant number representing the growing wave of kids spending time online in some kind of social game or community.

A few weeks ago, kids’ social gaming site Moshi Monsters reached 50 million registered users. While Moshi Monsters is more of a gaming site than a specific kids’ social network like imbee or Everloop, this is still a significant number representing the growing wave of kids spending time online in some kind of social game or community.

While Moshi Monsters is primarily focused on each the care and interaction of each user’s adopted pet, there is still the social networking element of a chat function that allows users to communicate with one another. Users operate in a secure and moderated environment, and the site seems to be age-appropriate for kids as young as five or six. Regardless, parents should understand that before kids of any age start getting involved with social networks – whether it’s a gaming-specific site, a “kids’ only” social network, or a more public and open network like Facebook – there needs to be some kind of dialogue and set of rules in place. This will ensure that kids understand that they are contributing to their digital footprint as soon as they start spending time online. There are secure and safe online environments for kids – and Moshi Monsters is a great example of this. Just make sure that no matter what sites your kids are spending time on, they understand that any social network presents certain risks and that they should be as private and secure as possible when interacting with others online and posting certain information about themselves.

What social networks and social gaming sites do your kids participate in?