Crayola.com vs. Familyfun.com Review

Having two young girls can be a lot of work. They require constant attention and supervision, not to mention the need for an occasional babysitter or a visit to the doctor. But even though much work is necessary to raise happy, healthy kids, there is also plenty of time for fun and the world wide web offers many different web sites that are focused mainly on the entertainment needs of children. Two sites we visit and utilize throughout the week are Crayola.com and Familyfun.com Let's see how these two web sites stack up:

What Do These Web Services Offer?:

Crayola.com and Familyfun.com are two web sites that are all about children, keeping them entertained, and teaching them to be creative. They are good web services to consult when looking for ideas for fun and also for ideas with an educational twist. Some of the ideas are for casual, everyday use while others (like some of the crafts) are suggested for use by teachers and other professionals.

How are These Web Services Similar?

Both Crayola.com and Familyfun.com have many fun things to offer and they share much in common. For example, both are resources for arts and crafts and not only are there hundreds- even thousands- of available crafts, both Crayola.com and Familyfun.com offer different ways to search for craft ideas. Parents can search by theme, but age category, by occasion, etc. (search options differ slightly between the two sites). This can help parents and others to more quickly locate just the right craft idea. 

Kids love to color, and both Crayola.com and Familyfun.com offer coloring pages that can be downloaded and printed directly from the web site, free of charge. Familyfun.com takes this a step further, offering greeting cards for special occasions that can be printed directly from the site.

If your child likes to play games, there are plenty to be found at both Crayola.com and Familyfun.com. Click the "Games and Fun" section at Crayola.com or the "Games" section at Familyfun.com and you will be greeted with an assortment of games. Some of these games are intended to be played on a personal computer. The others are game ideas, complete with instructions on what needs to be made, rules of the game, variations, and safety precautions.

Classroom ideas are also offered at both Crayola.com and Familyfun.com/ Crayola.com offers actual lesson plans, art lessons, and creative experiences while Familyfun.com concentrates more on gifts for teachers as well as crafts to introduce to a classroom.

How are These Web Services Different?

The basic services at both Crayola.com and Familyfun.com are pretty much the same, but there are some services offered at one of the two sites but not both, or that are offered at both but one is better than the other. One is the travel section offered at Familyfun.com. Crayola.com offers a travel section also, but Familyfun.com is better. This section offers not only some destination ideas, but also some ideas on family activities that the family can enjoy once they reach a specific destination. And because Familyfun.com is family- oriented, there is also a recipe section. These recipes include fun food ideas that kids will enjoy along with healthy alternatives and foods that can be made by parent/child combinations.

In the education section, Crayola.com scores some points for its lesson plans- lesson plans that can be searched and customized by age of child, by subject, by theme, or by product. Besides this, Crayola.com also offers more craft ideas and more computer games, whereas Familyfun.com offers more ideas for outdoor games that don't involve the use of a personal computer.

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Both Crayola.com and Familyfun.com have much to offer the parent or educator, and each is certainly worth visiting. The primary differences come down to the emphasis in each web site. Crayola.com is mostly concerned with arts and crafts. Familyfun.com, like its name suggests, is focused more on family activities.

I like both of these web services very much and they both offer some great ideas. But only one site can be crowned the winner in this battle of the online children's web sites. My vote for the better online service is:

Familyfun.com

I like the craft ideas offered at Crayola.com and it certainly offers some great creative arts ideas. But when you take everything into consideration (the suggestions for travel, the games, recipes, and the magazine affiliation), Familyfun.com wins by a slim margin as a better overall site. Familyfun.com is focused on the family, with some good art and craft ideas, like Crayola.com, plus a little bit more. It makes Familyfun.com the slightly better resource for child learning/entertainment.