Captain McFinn’s Swim & Play FAQs
1. Do you have one live host for every child in the Captain McFinn world? How do you have enough hosts?
No. We’re not sure exactly where we would wrangle up 1.9 billion McFinn explorers, but the thought is intriguing. It’s better to think of Swim & Play as a playdate on your tablet device. It’s not intended to be a one-on-one experience, but rather a group experience. Our host is there to facilitate fun activities and stories with a large group of children and their parents. One host may be talking to 50 or 1,000 children at a given moment. The host may lead the group in a drawing or music activity, and your child’s creation may just get shared with the whole group! Children will be led in live, ever-changing games and lessons and can cheer on the other children, or ‘swimmer fish,’ as they create and learn.
Because we are live 12 hours a day, the number of children in a session is constantly changing. Some families may enjoy being a part of a large experience where hundreds or thousands of other children can clap for their drawings or dance to the song they wrote. Other families may enjoy swimming and playing with a smaller group and having a more personal experience. Keep checking back throughout the day to find a session that fits your family best. Some hours are busier than others.
2. Tell me about the Live Captain McFinn hosts (how do I know they are safe)?
All of our live hosts go through rigorous background checks and training before presenting to children. While children can see and hear the live McFinn host, nobody will be able to see or hear your child, and your child will only be able to communicate with the live host. The host can only see the creations your child shares, any chat messages sent, and how your child is interacting with the Swim & Play app.
All of our technology complies with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) guidelines and our hosts are trained to ensure that we do not capture any child’s personal identifiable information. Therefore, this information is never shared with others.
3. We have a favorite Live host. Can we see a schedule of when our favorite host will be on the show?
Currently, we do not post a schedule of when a specific live host will appear in the McFinn submarine. For now, keep checking back to see if your favorite explorer is hosting Swim & Play. We may add this feature in the future, so you can catch your favorites in action. For now, please stay tuned for our community surveys. We will be looking to see if connecting with a specific host is something our community is particularly interested in.
4. How often do the Captain McFinn shows change themes, stories or activities?
The McFinn themes and topics will change every day. One day, Swim & Play may focus on Bella the angelfish and lead the group in activities that teach kindness. The next day, we might focus on another McFinn character’s perspective and a new theme, such as taking turns, preventing bullying, or expressing different emotions.
In addition to the daily themes and lessons, the live component also means no two experiences are ever the same. Each host brings a different personality to Swim & Play and sessions involve a lot of improvisation. Children and parents can offer specific suggestions for games and activities, and the host may choose to let these suggestions change the direction of the playdate. Often activities will be given a new spin that fits within a specific theme. New interactive content will also be brought in frequently. There’s always something new for your child to learn and experience!
5. Is there some way I can guarantee the Captain McFinn host will mention my child’s name or show their art work?
There is no guarantee that your child’s name will be mentioned in a live session or their artwork shown. It is, however, very likely, as our live hosts are trained to share and mention as many of the children in the playdate as possible. The more you play, the more likely it is you will hear your child’s name and have their creation shared with hundreds of other children. Of course, we also believe in choosing screen time wisely. We encourage families to to decide together how much time in Swim & Play is a healthy amount.
6. Today is my child’s birthday. Would the Captain McFinn Live host sing my child “Happy Birthday” today?
Because we comply with COPPA guidelines, we will not be able to sing Happy Birthday to any specific child. Birthdays are considered personal, identifiable information. To ensure the safety of all of our users, we never share this information during a live session. That being said, we really do hope your child has the happiest of birthdays!
7. How fast an Internet connection is required for the Captain McFinn Swim and Play ?
To play on Swim & Play, you will need a broadband connection with a 300k minimum.
8. Sometimes it seems my Live host disappears and randomly reappears?
This may have to do with your internet connection. Check the strength of your wifi or try closing the app and rebooting. If you feel you have a strong internet connection, and you are still running into issues, contact support@captainmcfinn.com. We’d love to help.
9. What happens if multiple people are streaming Captain McFinn or other types of content from the same wifi network?
The less people streaming other content on the same network, the better Swim & Play works. If your Live host keeps disappearing or you feel you’re experiencing other technical issues, maybe ask to see if someone else can take a break from streaming their content. Or, grab the whole family and play Swim & Play together on one device. Captain McFinn believes in the power of taking turns!
10. Is Facebook the best way to communicate with the Captain McFinn team?
Parents are encouraged to ask us questions or send us comments on our Facebook page. You can also email us through support@captainmcfinn.com. We’re all ears.
11. Why can’t I send certain letters and numbers into the chat box?
Again, this feature is to ensure your child’s safety. Because words and letter combinations can identify a place, state, or country abbreviation, children cannot enter them into the chat box. Numbers can also be used to tell a child’s age or give an address. Swim & Play is designed to prohibit the sharing of any personal, identifiable information. This means no numbers or place names. Also, children cannot send profanity or inappropriate language.
12. Can we chat directly with other families in the live Captain McFinn World?
No. The chat box is used to communicate with the live host and the live host only. This is for your child’s safety. We did not design Swim & Play to be a chat room, but a facilitated, group experience. When you or your child sends a chat message, only the host can see that chat. The host may read your chat message aloud to the whole group. So, it is possible that you might hear your family friend’s chat message read aloud or see another family’s creation shared. To comply with COPPA, the host will never read any personal, identifiable information aloud to the group.
13. What hours are the live hosts available?
Swim & Play will be everyday, 7am – 7pm PST. You can also interact with the silly characters in the underwater world when the live host isn’t available. But, we think it’s more fun when they’re there.
14. My child can’t spell or communicate with a chat box, how are they supposed to participate in Swim & Play?
We know that your 3 year old does not know how to send chat messages yet. Swim & Play was designed with this in mind. Children can communicate with the host by tapping on the clap button to cheer on another family participating in the event. Children are also prompted to tap certain buttons to share their creations or swim around to find certain silly characters or objects.
The chat box was designed for parents. This is a great way for parents to ask the host questions or to share something with the host about their child. For instance, you might want to tell the host that your child’s favorite color is hot pink or ask the host when your favorite explorer will be on next. Because the number of visitors in Swim & Play is constantly changing, your chat message may or may not be read aloud to the group. If you have an urgent question that you need answered, feel free to contact us at support@captainmcfinn.com.
15. My child used to play on Swim & Play and now it seems we are unable to join in one of the live sessions. Why is this?
It is possible that you are experiencing technical difficulties and may need to contact support@captainmcfinn.com for assistance. It is also possible that your child or someone using your device was banned or booted from the live experience. To keep our live hosts safe, users who are chatting inappropriate content to our hosts repeatedly may be banned from Swim & Play. Inappropriate chat messages can disrupt the entire experience and distract the host from creating a fun environment for families. If this is occurring, our host has the ability to ban certain users who seem to be ruining the experience for everyone.
16. Why do we limit user nicknames to only 7 characters?
Again, we’ve designed this feature with safety in mind. As you’ll see from the prompt, we’d like family’s to enter nicknames and not full names. Because we don’t collect personally identifiable information, we do not allow first and last names. Besides nicknames are more fun anyways! Work with your child to come up with a fun name that reflects something they like, something fun about their personality, or just something they’d like to be called by the live host. Once you’ve selected that nickname, you might just hear the live host say it aloud for the whole group! Having a hard time coming up with a fun nickname? No worries! Swim & Play will come up with one for you. Just leave the nickname line blank, and we’ll provide your swimmer fish’s silly, new name.
Captain McFinn, LLC
5577 Youngstown Warren Rd.
Niles, OH 44446
Phone: 330-747-2661
Email: marketing@captainmcfinn.com