I have children of many ages. The problem that we often have is one of the younger children wanting to be like and do the things that the older kid(s) do. One of those problems is internet usage. We allow Tayler, our 16 year old, to spend time on Myspace. I have her passwords and monitor her usage but we don’t check on her every move. The problem comes in when Mackenzie wants to spend time on the internet.
We don’t feel comfortable with her being left on her own on the web. There is just too much that can happen with a young girl online by herself. With 4 other children, I honestly don’t have time to sit and monitor her on the computer. So, sadly, Mackenzie doesn’t get to spend much time on the internet. She actually gets more access at school than at home.
So, when I heard about My Secret Circle, I was really intrigued. Is it possible for my 9 year old to enjoy the same things that my 16 year old does and be safe? Yes! It really is. With My Secret Circle, you must have an access key (this is like a flash drive) that has its own password. If you want to add friends, you can but they need to have a code to be your friend. You are only friends with people you want to be friends with. No one even knows you are online if they aren’t your friend. In addition, there are no ads to see and your child can change her My Secret Circle profile to fit her tastes.
We were sent a My Secret Circle BFF Pack to review. The BFF Pack has two keys. Mackenzie and I sat down and got her set up with her key. She picked her background, her hair color, eye color, hair style, clothes, accessories, and entered her favorites (colors, music, etc). She then took off into the other room so I could set up the second key. I wanted to see how easy it was to find her. It wasn’t easy. It was actually impossible… and that is a good thing! I had to write down a 12 digit code (good only once each time so it can’t be given to others) and she entered it on her computer. She added me and we were suddenly friends! The only other friend either of us have is Serena Circle. She is the personal guide to all you want to know about My Secret Circle.
My Secret Circle was designed for girls 8-12 years old and I think it is wonderful. Mackenzie enjoyed writing in her journal and sending IMs to me. In addition, she can post photos and edit them some. She even can play games on My Secret Circle (if she has more friends).
There are so many positives about My Secret Circle; the biggest being online safety. I always know who Mackenzie talking to because they show up on her friends list. No one else can even see her.
I did find 2 negatives that I feel compelled to share though. One is that you must have the access key to play. This is what makes it safe. But, until Mackenzie’s friends have My Secret Circle, she can only do things by herself (which she actually enjoyed). We plan on solving this problem by buying My Secret Circle for her friends for birthdays! The other issue is the password. Once you make the password, you can never get it again. There is no way to reset. If you lose it, you basically have a worthless item and need to buy another access key. There is a spot on the instruction manual to write your chosen password down. We have decided to keep the key and instruction book in a ziploc so that we don’t have to worry about losing the password.
The positives of My Secret Circle far outweigh the two negatives I found. My child’s online safety is worth more than anything so buying them as gifts and keeping the passwords safe is not a big problem for me at all. What is even better is that Mackenzie enjoyed playing with it!
You can purchase My Secret Circle at Justice stores.
My Secret Circle is so kind that they have offered to give one of you your own My Secret Circle Access Key. If you have a tween girl in your life, this giveaway is for you!
disclaimer: I was not paid or reimbursed for this review. I did receive the product mentioned in this review at no cost but the thoughts and opinions are mine.
Leave a Reply