ScuttlePad, which is designed to be the first social network for kids with a safe -” and cool -” environment to learn and truly interact online while building language skills was lauched recently. Whether adults like it or not, social networking has become an everyday part of a kid’s life. At a time when 27% of kids aged 9-17 are serious users of social media, ScuttlePad comes around to give them an environment to learn how to build a profile and share updates with friends.
ScuttlePad doesn’t clutter the experience with games and puzzles, but instead meets the specific needs of 6-11 year olds while helping them build language skills. With ScuttlePad, kids express themselves using guided communication to learn how to share information responsibly. ScuttlePad doesn’t connect to networks designed for adults, and kids can’t get into trouble by sharing too much or inappropriate information. Kids create status updates by clicking through pre-approved word lists to create sentences, which can result in silly statuses like, “I’m helping the radio,” but users can’t post anything offensive or too personal with ScuttlePad.
“ScuttlePad was built on the principle that guided communication helps kids avoid inappropriate online content,” explained ScuttlePad Founder and CEO Chad Perry. “We would never let our kids teach themselves how to cross a street, and the same is true for social networking. We need to show them how to be responsible.”
ScuttlePad is free, and signing up is simple. A parent or guardian must provide an email address to approve the creation of a user account. The adult receives an email to approve the membership and receive all the account passwords. Kids build a profile based only on their first name, hometown and state, and can upload a picture (all of which is manually reviewed by ScuttlePad). Once they’re a part of the ScuttlePad community, kids can connect with their friends. Kids then click through their pre-approved word lists to give status updates or comment on their friends’ news feeds.
For more information, log on to www.ScuttlePad.com.
