kids on the net

neopets.com is excellent for the younger ones, and it can also double as a learning tool, since the site has games dealing with math, spelling, etc. i used to use it when i tutored 2 brothers, 7 and 9 yrs old, and the only problem it caused was that their parents allowed them 1 hour of computer time a night, on alternating nights. this caused them to fight over whose night it was so that they could play neopets lol. the site may also be suitable for the older kids, though maybe they will think it is too cutesy or 'babyish'. if that is the case, you can have them try out superdudes.com which is for slightly older kids. you can create your own superhero, and play games online or against other players. but the way it works, your kids will never have to interact directly with other players. it's all done on request. for example. player A wants to play against player B. next time player B logs into the site, they receive a message requesting a battle/competition/quest etc. they can accept or refuse, but when the game begins, there aren;t actually 2 humans on real time. the game is pre-set by player A, and when player B decides to join, he or she plays against the RULES set by player A. if a re-match is wanted, player B has to then request one. Rules are then set in reverse. sounds complicated, but in fact it just means your kids will always be playing a computer (or internet interface), with a small human touch behind it, but no actual human :) oh, and neopets has an adult blocker, so that your children cannot access email features, where predators might try to attack them. very useful!

can try this site. its full of the games i use to play on my amiga 500 you can play them all but must be online to do it... http://www.bd-fans.com/FreewareWindows.html

For your older kids I'd recommend Pogo.com It has lots of different games on it, it's free to join, (unless you want to upgrade to become a member) and they can also chat in the game rooms they play in - all chats are moderated too so you don't have to worry about bad language or anything. For your brothers kids, I'm not too sure of anything available for kids that young - although I know there must be numerous things. I just haven't seen anything myself personally. For those, maybe you could buy a set of games for the PC. If you look in the right places, you can get a set of something like 50 games on one CD for the PC and those games tend to be good for kids of all ages.