Webkinz - Online World for Virtual Pets:

The latest craze to hit teenie booper kids are Webkinz. Most parents are familiar with these things, you buy the stuffed animal in the store for about $10 and then your child registers his/her pet on the Webkinz.com website. Once the pet is registered, you have exactly 1 year to create a virtual world for it before it expires. Kids are crazy for these pets, my daughter has 3 already and wants more. I believe that they are addictive as she could spend hours online in this "virtual" world caring for her pet dog if I let her. I try to limit her to about 15 to 20 minutes on the website 3 to 4 times a week. Just enough to allow her to do a few things and then she needs to log off again. When you register your Webkinz, you create a username and password for the pet that is stored on the website so each time you return you enter the information and log into your account. It's amazing how kids are able to navigate menus and complicated screens on the computer in order to play the online Webkinz game.

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Unlike Disney websites which bombard kids with advertisements, so far Webkinz.com does not have glitzy ads running on the website nor does it through popup ads at my daughter. Registering is easy, just enter your "Secret Code" which comes on the tag with the Webkinz you buy in the store. You can even have multiple virtual pets within the same login area. In the bottom left-hand corner of the main screen you will see your little virtual pet with scores for their Happiness, Health, and Hunger. The game requires you to earn money either playing games or getting a job in order to feed, clothe, and build a house for your pet. If your pets "hunger" score drops to low you have to buy it food or if their "health" score dips to low get them to the vet, Dr Quack. When you play games you get Webkinz Cash which is how you buy things in this virtual game. My daughter showed me the house she is slowly building for her dog and she is able to expand the house by purchasing new rooms and even a yard. The W-Shop link takes you to a menu with choices like food, clothing, electronics, beds, tables, outdoor, etc. The one thing I have noticed while watching my daughter play online is that she is now aware that money doesn't just last forever. She realizes that you can only buy so much before the $$'s run out. Then you have to go back and work some more or play games (ok, games=money is not real life). Still, she is learning that if you want to buy something you have to earn money first. I didn't look into it, but I don't think they allow the kids to buy things on credit within the Webkinz game. The screens are easy to navigate with large lettering and within a few tries my child was up and running on her own with very little help from me. She just turned 7 and appears to be figuring things out within the game quite quickly. Webkinz were first released by the Ganz company back in April of 2005 and they have taken on a life of their own. The small stuffed animals are more popular than the Cabbage Patch dolls of our time except now you can use your Webkinz online too. They even created smaller versions of the stuffed animals called "Lil Kinz" which are fast becoming the "must have" item. The Webkinz trading cards are somewhat new and we haven't delved into this field yet. There are 2 series of cards available and you can use them to play the challenge game online. The packs include 1 card with a "code" which you enter online.

Where to buy Webkinz:

I see them almost everywhere - in department stores, at our local candy store, in tourist shops. Often you will see a sign at the front of the shop that says "Webkinz Inside" or something like that. Your kids will probably be able to point you in the right direction. Amazon.com offers a Webkinz area to their site where you can buy the various animals offered in the collection. There are pandas, ducks, husky dogs, penguins, kangaroos, cats, dogs, lizards, rabbits, and dozens more to choose from. Pricing ranged from about $10 to $15 for these. My daughter just had her 7th birthday and 2 people purchased Webkinz as gifts so now she has more to play with. As a parent, please don't give these things as birthday presents, most kids already have one and they don't need 2 or 3 to go online with. Save your money and buy something educational or get a toy that requires a child to go outside and play and get exercise.

Webkinz Website - Should A Parent Be Concerned:

I have always been pretty protective of allowing my child to roam the Internet on her own. I watch over her online use very carefully to make sure she isn't visiting strange sites or downloading bizarre software programs that may have a virus or spyware. Webkinz, at this point in time, is very safe for kids to be on, except that is does have that addictive style to it that may keep your keeps deeply interested for hours. They currently have no plan for online advertising that would go on the site which is good** (See below for added note). I can't stand kids websites that are loaded with popup ads or banner ads that make them confused and bombard them with mixed marketing images. I say it's a good idea to go online with your child and do a quick run through of the Webkinz game and online scenarios that exists in this virtual world . Get an idea of what is possible once on the website and watch your child do it for a few times to make sure you are ok with the content matter and how the website works. I would limit the amount of time online each day, but overall the site seems safe and fun for kids. The only problem I see is that my daughter wants to have more and more of these Webkinz to play with online. ****I am adding this note as of (4/15/08) - it appears that Webkinz.com is experimenting with new ads for things like kids movies. We will see how far they take this on the site, definitely log on with your child every few weeks to see how the ads are displayed and determine if it's overboard.

Trading Cards - Catalogs:

We briefly mentioned the Webkinz Trading Cards up above. On websites like Amazon.com you can buy a 10 pack for $18.50 or get the entire Webkinz Trading Cards Series 2 Sealed Box 36 Packs for about $100. Some kids like to collect and trade them which is perfectly normal. The first series had 80 base set cards and there were also 3 subsets of cards including Challenge Cards, Curio Shop Curiosities, and Webkinz Doodlez. The trading cards are tied directly to the website which only adds to the addiction of wanting to be online all the time. For now, the Wekbinz World seems safe, but as parents it's our job to keep watch on our kids when they go on the Internet so check up on them periodically to see who they are doing.

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