You love the Internet — and why not? When you go online, you can play games, connect with friends, e-mail, text and — oh, yeah — do homework. But where exactly do you go on the World Wide Web? What’s so fun about it anyway? And perhaps most importantly, what will your parents think about it?

Playing Games

Trey Quinn of Atlanta loves Webkinz (www.web kinz.com), a site for playing games and connecting with friends. He has a stuffed animal that came with a tag with a password, and the password lets him join Webkinz. A cartoon of the stuffed animal appears on the screen, and he can make it do things, take care of it like a pet.

          There are also games at Webkinz. If Trey knows he has friends on the site at the same time, he can play games with them. He can chat with them online, too, but only using words and phrases provided on the site.

          “Webkinz is the ultimate Internet toy for kids!” says Trey, who is 9 and has cerebral palsy.

          Trey’s mom and dad encourage him to play online. He uses a walker and wheelchair, so playing online is often more fun than playing outside with his friends. “My parents support me going online by giving me time to play,” he says, “when I finish my homework.”

          Trey admits he “may be a little addicted.” But

what does he do online besides Webkinz? “I mostly

play games,” he says, “but sometimes I do research

for school.”

Doing Homework

That’s another reason many kids like the online world. It can be an easy, fun way of doing homework. It’s easy to research topics by looking them up on Google, for instance. It’s easy to search online newspapers to find out about current events and look up words in online dictionaries. Some kids’ teachers even email assignments to them or put them on a school website where students can download them. For many people, it’s easier to write on the computer than by hand.

          Sam Graves is 15 and also has CP. He uses a power wheelchair and lives in Twin Cities, Minnesota. He recently completed a 10-page research report about Thomas Jefferson and slavery, which he researched and wrote completely on his computer. His advice to other kids about the Internet: “Use it for research because it’s a lot easier” than searching through libraries and managing big, heavy books.

Onscreen Reading

A good source for books is Bookshare (www.book share.org), which provides books and periodicals online to people with disabilities. Elina Hughes, who lives in Claremont, California, and has CP, says, “It’s like a library open 24/7!” A wide variety of books can be downloaded and read onscreen. You can even adjust the size of the letters. “I use it with Ghost Reader software. When my eyes get tired, it can read the book to me,” says Elina. “It’s like having my mom reading to me! That’s cool, and it makes it easier to do my homework.”

          Thanks to the latest technology, Elina can keep up with a sixth-grade literature class of both disabled and nondisabled kids. The computer helps her do the work. When she had to miss school for a few weeks to pick up her new service dog, Elina stayed current with assignments and turned in homework on time by e-mail with other students and the teacher.

Online Entertainment

But let’s be honest. The Internet isn’t just about schoolwork — it’s fun, too! Sam Graves spends about an hour a day doing schoolwork on the computer, and another hour either playing games or socializing, mostly via e-mail. He enjoys watching videos and listening to music on YouTube. This is physically easier than inserting CDs or DVDs into a separate player, and the variety of entertainment there seems endless.

          Another favorite online location is SIKids (www. sikids.com), a sports site from Sports Illustrated magazine. Sam likes to play fantasy basketball.

The Internet at School

Some kids learn about the Internet at school. Elina explores the online world every day in class. “We look up This Day in History, the weather, news — basically, almost everything!” she says. “We even watched the Paralympics at school online. It was cool!”

          She also uses it to socialize. “My friend was in the hospital, and he and I used the Caring Bridge website (www.caringbridge.org) to e-mail each other,” says Elina. She puts limits on her online socializing, though. “I only feel safe on the Internet or e-mailing with my mom and not by myself.”

Being Careful

Elina is very careful online. Asked if she thinks the Internet is a good or bad thing, she answers, “It depends on the site.” To other kids she says, “Make sure you are with somebody like your parents or your teachers” when you go online. “It’s very important to be safe.”

          Being safe means never giving out personal information like your address, your phone number, or even your real name. Never share a password. “The Internet is a good thing because it has good resources and fun games, but people sometimes can get information they should not have,” Trey says.

          Another thing to keep in mind: If somebody hassles you online, or if anything happens that makes you the slightest bit uncomfortable, tell your parents or teacher right away. Don’t be afraid that they will take away your Internet privileges. They won’t. They know it’s not your fault. They can help you come up with a solution.

Finding Safe Sites

To help find websites that are OK with mom and dad, 9-year-old Christian Jaggi of Alpharetta, Georgia, clicks on his Favorites list in Internet Explorer. His parents have listed there all the sites he likes that meet their approval. When he wants to try a new site, he has to ask permission. Sometimes he tries to get away with exploring new sites on his own, but his mom usually finds out.

          Other families use special software to block certain websites. The King family of St. Charles, Missouri, uses an application called Cybersitter. Tyler King, 13, says his parents are very supportive of his Internet use. “When I ask them a question about homework, they tell me to ‘look it up on the Internet,’” says Tyler, who is 13 and has Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

          Besides using the online world as a resource to answer homework questions, Tyler uses it to keep in touch with friends, something his parents encourage, too. “It’s easier for my friends to get together, but since I’m in a wheelchair I can’t always go the places they go together. But I can always talk to them on AIM,” he says, referring to America Online Instant Messaging, which can be accessed on any online computer.

Personal Research

Whether they’re doing homework or socializing, most kids who go online do it almost every day. Some kids use it to find out about their disabilities, camps and special programs they might like to attend, and the latest adaptive technology, including the newest wheelchair styles.

          That’s the kind of personal research Christian does. Christian has a neurological disability. He has surgery two or three times a year. Before he goes to the hospital, he spends time researching the operation so he knows what to expect. He recently learned about a breathing machine called a BiPAP, because he knew he was going to have to use one soon in the hospital. When the time came, the BiPAP’s mask and tubes didn’t scare him because he was already familiar with them.

          One of his favorite Internet destinations is Edheads (www.edheads.org), a place for playing doctor online. Learning about “virtual surgery” is both fun and educational, so his mom doesn’t mind.

          Another site Christian likes is Club Penguin (www.clubpenguin.com), which is another place with lots of games. It’s from Disney. Sometimes he invites friends over to play with him on the site. They can even go on different computers and play together. He doesn’t get to play with them outside as much because, even though he has a power wheelchair, he can’t always keep up with the physical games. But online he can play with his friends for hours and never fall behind.

          “The computer is pretty important to me,” says Christian.

          He’s not alone. Most kids would agree.