The falling of the Autumn leaves lets us know two things: It’s time to head back to class and it’s time to change up our wardrobes to prepare for the cooler weather. 

Layering is a must for guys or girls at this time of year, but you don’t need to redo your entire closet–the key is adding on to your summer wardrobe with some classic items. Pick up some easy pieces like loose jackets, warm shawls or zippered hoodies. The look for Fall is casual cool so don’t fret too much about making sure it all matches. You want to be comfortable first and foremost. Mix patterns, fabrics and accessories for a pulled-together but playful, nonchalant look.

Check out Kidzworld for some more easy Back To School Style tips.

School is fast approaching which means it’s time to harass your parents for some Must-Have Back To School Supplies.

If you’re like most people, you’re most likely concerned about the environment–one good way to keep plastics at a minimum is to invest in your own stainless steel water bottle. There are lots of designs to choose from and you’ll be helping to keep down recycling costs.

Another essential back to school item is a new pair of shoes. From Nikes to Adidas to Converse, there’s always a running shoe that fits your personality as well as your feet.

Check out some more Back To School Must-Have Supplies for 2009 on Kidzworld.

New York City. It’s a place of busy streets and crazy cab drivers. It’s a place of big billboards and flashing lights. It’s a place of cafes and 24 hour pharmacies.

But what’s it like to live in such a tourist-filled city? Once you overcome the crowds and settle in to the hustle and bustle, you’ll see how everything is right at your fingertips. There are restaurants and cafes on every corner, pharmacies and grocery stores, libraries and book stores, electronic and clothing stores, cinemas and theaters, zoos and museums, arcades and toy stores! There’s a zero to ten minute walk in every direction leading you to everything you could possibly want or need. And with so many icons calling New York City their home, you’ll always be the first to know the latest news on celebs. Who knows, maybe you’ll even meet a few!

And the best part of all? If you’re the lazy type (or the type of plans to work from home), you don’t even need to leave your apartment. Everything you need–groceries, movies, dinner reservations–can be yours at the click of a button. Literally. Nearly everything can be ordered online and delivered straight to your door.

But easy access to life’s little neccessities comes at a price. In Manhattan, the monthly rent for one bedroom apartments range from about $1500 to $4500! But with nearly 50 million visitors to NYC annually and a population of well over 8 million people, it’s no wonder a good, central location costs so much.

Kidzworld is a safe website for kids and teens offering kid books to read, school science fair project ideas, gift ideas guide, movie and dvd reviews, the latest game reviews, kids quizzes, new toy reviews, news on celebs, book reviews, trading card game reviews, website game for kids as well as kids only chat rooms and kids message boards. We have developed this policy statement to reflect our commitment to kids safety, security and privacy. Users on Kidzworld have access to a great website for kids.  We do try to educate them to be aware of what they are doing and to take steps to ensure their own safety.

Kidzworld is a leading safe website for kids. It was established in 1999, by Allen W. Achilles as a direct result of his concern for the safety and security of his own children online. Since that time, Allen Achilles has been an advocate for the safety and security of kids online is protected. COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) became effective on April 21, 2000. The regulations apply to the online collection of personal information from children 12 years and younger. The Act spells out what website operators, need to include in privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent and what responsibilities website operators, have to protect and secure children’s privacy and safety online. Kidzworld is a safe website for kids and respects the privacy of it users, who are kids.

COPPA applies to individual identifiable information about a child (12 or younger) that is collected online, such as full name, home address, email address, telephone number or any other information that would allow someone to identify or contact a kid. The Act also applies to other types of information, such as hobbies, interests and user information gathered through the use of cookies and other methods of tracking, when they are tied to individually identifiable information.

Kidzworld and founder Allen Achilles are tireless advocates of Internet privacy. As the only fully moderated website for kids, we take extraordinary measures to ensure and secure the privacy and safety of our kids.

Our registration form requires kids to provide us with contact information: first name and initial, email address and demographic information (age, gender, and state/province). This information is used to get in touch with users when and if necessary. For kids 13 and older, we send their parent/guardian an email notifying them that they have registered at Kidzworld and provided us with personally identifiable information. For kids 12 and under we obtain permission from the kids parent/guardian before the registration is completed. We send them a confirmation email to which they must respond.

Kidzworld does not disclose users personal information to anyone, at any time, for any reason. However, in the event of the sale or merger of the company, Kidzworld.com, Inc., the personal information collected by Kidzworld about its’ user in the normal course of its business will be shared with the partner company or successor company upon completion of the subject acquisition or merger.  Parents or guardians can review their child’s personal information once we receive verifiable identification. Verifiable consent can be given by one of the following methods:   following the link provided in the confirmation email, provide a signed form via postal mail or facsimile or even giving us a call. Upon request, parents may delete or prohibit the further collection of their child’s personal information by contacting us at privacy@kidzworld.com and clearly state the nature of their inquiry. Any contact made with our member kids is done so through the facilities of Kidzworld.

Another way that Kidzworld accesses information about kids is through IP addresses. An IP address is something that is unique to your computer, and is used to identify and collect broad demographic information (like age, gender, regional information and generic interests).  As a safe website for kids, tools such as these can be used positively and in the sole interest of protecting the privacy and safety of all kids online.

Kidzworld also uses a form for kids to request information, products and services. We collect users unique identifiers (their Kidzworld on-screen name) to fulfill these requests.

Kidzworld hosts online contests for kids in which we ask entrants for their e-mail address. This information is used solely to contact winners.  Information collected for contests is deleted once winners have been confirmed. Participation in contests is open to all visitors, registered or not.

The KW Zone is a unique component of the Kidzworld experience which makes it a great website for kids. In The KW Zone kids can create an online profile where they can design backgrounds, upload pictures and videos, make friends and interact with other kids with similar interests. All content posted is strictly moderated, but kids are still cautioned that anything they upload (and is subsequently approved) can be viewable across the web.  We recommended that the kids only upload images and information that they are willing to share with other kids.

Kidzworld has safe, moderated online chat rooms for kids, kids message boards and discussion groups. These are only accessible by our registered users. We make our users aware that postings and conversations in these areas becomes public information. Kids are not allowed to disclose any personally identifiable information. Their chosen username is their only identity at Kidzworld.

Kidzworld has a kids only chat room and kids message boards which are moderated at all times by experienced Kidzworld staff.  Our kids only chat room is open from 11am to 7:00pm Pacific Time (PST). Our chat moderators take extraordinary steps to ensure that the kids do not divulge personal information. Users who attempt to disclose, or request personal information will be removed from both the kids chat room  and kids message boards for 24 hours. If problems continue with the same user, their IP address may be permanently blocked and future access denied from that IP address.

Kidzworld offers numerous public domain e-cards for kids to send to family and friends. To send an e-card, kids must know the email address of the person that they are sending to. Thus, it is assumed they already know this person in real life. The senders personal information is not disclosed to the recipient as all e-cards are sent from the secure no-reply@kidzworld.com email address.  Information entered in the e-card is not stored or retained by Kidzworld.

As the best website for kids, our site contains links to other sites. Although Kidzworld is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of other sites, all sites accessible from Kidzworld are screened.  As a safe website for kids, we want to ensure that these sites comply with our standards. When a user clicks on an outbound link, they are first directed to a re direct page informing them that they are about to leave Kidzworld.

Occasionally Kidzworld communicates with the registered user kids by email. Kidzworld allows kids to opt-out of receiving communications from us in the registration form. If a user wishes to opt-out after completing the registration form, they can do so by contacting us at privacy@kidzworld.com or by clicking on the Unsubscribe link in the next newsletter.

As the best website for kids, it is understandable that there are ads,  Advertising on Kidzworld is provided by Gorilla Nation, using the Dart/DoubleClick ad serving platform.  Information about your visit to Kidzworld, such as number of times you have viewed an ad is used to control the delivery of ads to users.

In the course of serving advertising, the advertiser may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. This does not have any impact on kids safety on the website.

Kidzworld truly is the best website for kids and teens. It has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. Passwords and personal information is collected and stored on our secure servers. Paper records of data and financial transactions are stored in a locked facility. Information will only be divulged to law enforcement agencies upon subpoena. However, in the event of the sale or merger of the company, Kidzworld.com, Inc., the personal information collected by Kidzworld about its’ user in the normal course of its business will be shared with the partner company or successor company upon completion of the subject acquisition or merger.

If you wish to cancel your account or have any questions or comments about our privacy statement, our practices or your dealings with Kidzworld, you can contact us at privacy@kidzworld.com.

Hey kids! While hanging out at Kidzworld, we want you to have as much fun as possible, but we also want you to be safe! That’s why we have these tips for you to follow while hanging out online – not just at Kidzworld, but any website you find yourself on. Check them out so that Kidzworld stays fun and safe for you and all the other users.

• Keep your personal information to yourself. Do not disclose any info that could be used to identify you in a real life situation. Never give anyone online your last name, school name, passwords, email address or street address.
• Be cautious of people who ask you too many personal questions – especially if they won’t stop asking, even after you’ve told them no. If this happens to you, tell your parents, one of the chat moderators or email us atprivacy@kidzworld.com. Make sure you tell us the username of the person who is bothering you.
• If anyone online asks things that make you uncomfortable, nervous or scared, stop talking with them and tell your parents. You can also send us an email at privacy@kidzworld.com. Be sure to include the user’s screen name and some details about what happened, like where on the site and when.
• If you ever find an image, a link or an ad on Kidzworld that you think doesn’t belong there (it has bad language or pics), email us right away. Please make sure you include the URL so that we can find it and remove it.
• Don’t register on any website or in a contest that requires you to disclose personal information without getting your parent’s permission first. You always want to be on a safe website for kids.
• Read the chat and bulletin board rules and guidelines before entering any chatroom. This is important stuff to know otherwise you may break the rules and get kicked off.
• Talk to one of your parents before downloading anything from the internet.
• Don’t believe everything you read. Lots of people like to make up stuff when they are online. It’s important to remember that the people you are chatting with may not be telling you the truth about themselves.
• Never agree to meet an online “friend” face to face unless your parents know about it and say it’s okay. Don’t talk to anyone on the phone that you have met online unless your parents say it’s okay. Always tell your parents when someone asks to meet you in person or call you.
• Let Kidzworld know if you ever have a problem. If you are in the kids only chat room or on the kids message boards, speak with one of the moderators. Otherwise email us at privacy@kidzworld.com.
• But the most important thing to do! Kidzworld is a great website for kids that has the best chat rooms for kids. There are kids books to read, free stuff contests, free game cheats, free online contests, celebrities bios, new kids games, new toy reviews, video game previews, school science fair projects

Attention all Libba Bray fans!

It’s been a long year and a half since her December 2007 release of A Sweet Far Thing, the third and final book in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. But I’m happy to announce that the wait is finally over.

Libba Bray has revealed the release date of her next project titled Going Bovine. Although it’s not coming out as soon as we’d hoped–September 22, 2009–there are still tons of great teen and kid‘s books to read for the summer season. Check out Kidzworld’s bookshelf for some recent book reviews.

But if you simply can’t wait until September to get your Libba fix, then try reading one of the four short story collections that she, along many other popular teen authors, has contributed to:

• 21 Proms
  (also including stories from Holly Black, John Green, Rachel Cohn, Cecily Von Ziegesar, Melissa de la Cruz, David Levithan, and more!)
• Vacations from Hell
  (Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Sarah Mlynowski, and Maureen Johnson)
• Up All Night
  (Peter Abrahams, David Levithan, Patricia McCormick, Sarah Weeks and Gene Luen Yang)
• The Restless Dead
  (M.T. Anderson, Holly Black, Marcus Sedgwick, Chris Wooding, Herbie Brennan, Annette Curtis Klause, Nancy Etchemendy)

School work can be such a drag; page after page of math problems, tedious essays, boring novel studies…it never ends!

But school work doesn’t have to be boring. I know, I know. There’s nothing I, your parents or your teachers can do to make it more interesting. And you’re probably right. But there are some things you can do. The following tips sound simple and obvious. But trust me, I tried them and they work!

Do your work in class.

Sometimes having friends around makes it impossible to get any work done. You end up pushing it aside and socializing, leaving you bogged down with homework after school.

I found that by finishing that page of math problems, starting my essays by hand, and brainstorming project ideas in class saved me hours of homework after school. I could hang out with friends, and I avoided confrontation with my parents. In fact, doing my work in class put me in a better mood for the rest of the day knowing that I’d be free to spend the evening however I pleased.

Pay attention during class.

I was the ultimate doodler/napper. I slept through most classes, planning to read the textbook later. But I never completely understood the homework, and I never retained anything I read in the textbook. I scanned for answers, jotted them down and then tossed my homework aside.

But then I tried paying attention in class. I visualized what the teachers were saying and discovered that some of the information was actually interesting. After school I still remembered the lecture and I could tell my parents all about it. Being able to prove that I learned something gave me a rush and a sense of accomplishment that I didn’t know I needed. And best of all, it made the assignments a snap! I hardly even cracked the textbook.

Participate in class.

I always took the slacker route when it came to participating. I never asked a question or volunteered an answer. When it came to group work, I never offered my opinion or took a leading role.

But after I started paying attention in class, I found that I had opinions on the topics and I usually knew the answers. I started taking part in discussions. And I felt confident presenting my work to the class. And you know what? The classes were actually fun! I was so engaged that I didn’t watch the clock drag by. And class ended before I knew it!

For more school advice for kids or info on other kids issues, check out the Me section at Kidzworld.com.

One of the most important things today is finding a balance between being online, eating healthy and excersing. The KW Crew has come up with some great advice for kids on what to do to stay healthy while hanging out in the Zone.

It’s way more fun to chomp on chips while surfing for a free online contest or celebrities bios, but is that really the best thing to do? Probably not. It’s ok to munch on chips once in a while, but instead of snacking on chips, why not try something a little healthier, like low-fat string cheese or air-popped popcorn.

Worried that your friends aren’t eating healthy while in front of the computer? Why not try checking out some of the healthy snacks for a gift ideas guide.

It’s also important to keep excercising. Even though you have gym in school, it’s usually not enough to balance everything out. Ask the Coach for some tips on what excercises you can do while at the computer to stay fit. Checkout the recent book reviews to see if there might be information on staying fit.

It’s important to maintain a healthy balance between all the things we love to do and all the things that will keep us safe and healthy. If you’re not sure if you are on the right track, ask the Coach or an adult you trust. You could even ask other kids your age what they think on the kids message boards.

Everyone has trouble figuring out what to and how to make friends when they sign up for a new website. It’s can be hard to figure out what to do, where to go and how to talk with people, especially if you don’t know anyone. Here are a few tips on how to get around a safe kids website.

1.)  Check everything out! If you’re not sure how to do something, why not explore a little. A great website for kids will have tons of things to look at and do.

2.) Ask for help. Kidzworld has the best chat rooms for kids where you can find moderators who will gladly help you out. Find out who the head mod is and find their profile on the website. All of Kidzworld’s mods are super easy to talk with and will help out whenever you need it.

3.) Search for Friends. The best website for kids always has a an area where you can search for your friends and even look up people who live in your state, province or region. Once you’ve found someone who looks interesting to talk to, ask them for help. Lots of our users are willing to help show you the ropes.

4.) Don’t know anyone? Just ask some random person to chat. The best website for kids and teens has tons of kids your age where you can chat about whatever you want (as long as it’s safe of course). Once you are in the chat room you can go to different people’s profiles and leave them a message or just chat them up in the chat room. Just remember to have fun and be yourself.

Never be afraid to ask for help, everyone needs help at some point or other. Remember you’re here to have fun! Check out the articles on the homepage for advice for kids from Dish-It, Free Online Contests, games reviews, help and tips, celebrity bios and news and tons of other great articles about movies, the environment, school projects, toys and health and body info.

Have a blast!

~Tanya aka Hawkery

Kidzworld is a website for kids, mostly Tweens, kids ages 9 – 14. It is a safe and secure, content-driven social community for Tweens, kids ages nine to fourteen.

When founder Allen W. Achilles established Kidzworld in July 1999, there were no safe kids websites, in fact there were very few websites for kids. At kidzworld the users can read the latest movie reviews, recent book reviews, new toy reviews, find school science fair projects, read series book reviews and find out about top kids books. They can meet other kids in the safe kids chat room, or in the kids message boards.

Every place in  Kidzworld that provides users with the ability to interact with one another is moderated. Not by a machine, but by a real live human being. Our “mods” as the kids know them are well trained, and in some cases have been with us for years.

Kidzworld leverages advanced technology to allow kids to express themselves through the creation of original content in a number of different ways. They interact with each other in the kids only chat room and through active engaging postings on our kids message boards:  “The boards“.  They are able to get advice for kids from other kids and talk about kids dating with other kids.

In the KW Zone, their user profile, is a safe and secure way for them to let other kids know who they are and what they are interested in. This area is always monitored – which is something no other kids website provides. In fact, everything kids do at Kidzworld  where they can interact with each other is moderated. Thus, there is no ability to share or disclose personally identifiable information. Kidzworld truly is the best website for kids.

At Kidzworld, we strive to enrich, empower and engage kids and Tweens worldwide by providing a responsible platform where they can play and create; explore and discover; gather and interact. This is also a kids games site where they can enter video game contests, play games, get game cheat hints, find the latest game reviews and read about trading cards. In the entertainment section they can read the latest celebrity bios and get news on celebs. They can also read the latest movie reviews and new DVD movie reviews

The safety and security of our kids at Kidzworld is at the core of our mandate as the best website for kids. As a parent, you can have confidence that Kidzworld is a great website for kids and Teens providing a safem secure empowering experience for your child or children.

If at any time you have any comments or questions, please email Allen Achilles directly.