www.lpso.com)

common sense media says

Virtual world packed with product plugs.

parents & educators say

50% say there are positive messages
50% say it's educational

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that all kids, regardless of age, are asked to enter parent's e-mail address to register on the Littlest Pet Shop website. Premium membership, which costs $5.95 for a month, gives you some special privileges, such as giving virtual gifts to other premium members, and provides Kibble Coins, the site currency, for kids to spend on virtual pet accessories.

Educational value: Meant to entertain rather than educate.

Positive messages: Although the site doesn't delve too much into the basics of caring for a pet, it can be a starting point for parents to talk to kids about how having a pet can teach responsibility. Predetermined chat and post responses also encourage kids to communicate positively.

Violence: Not applicable.

Sex: Not applicable.

Language: To avoid bad language and/or negative comments, virtual pet photos posted to the site can only be rated using predetermined terms like "terrific" and "awesome." Chats are filtered.

Consumerism: Info on Littlest Pet Shop and other Hasbro products is everywhere; you can download product-related stuff like wallpaper and watch videos (some of which are commercials), and there's information on where to buy Pet Shop pets.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

Privacy & safety: A message reminds kids not to use their real name as their screen name when registering. Hasbro collects personally identifiable information from website users who volunteer it, and non-personally identifiable information from anyone who visits the site. The site plans to add parental controls to let parents manage their kids' accounts in the future.

Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Families can talk about how much time is too much time to spend in a virtual world. When is it better to play in the "real" world?
This site offers a paid membership that lets you do different things on the site, which can be a great way to get kids to talk about money. Ask your child, "What do you know about saving and spending?"
Like all pets, virtual pets require care -- which is a great way to learn how to be responsible. What do you need to do to care for a pet?

Is it any good?

Kids don't need to own one of Hasbro's Littlest Pet Shop pets to use the LITTLEST PET SHOP ONLINE site -- but chances are, after spending some time on it, they may want one. The site gets points for being easy to use. A cute character walks you through the registration process, and throughout the site, guides and other user avatars greet you by blinking and wiggling their ears.

Product plugs abound: The emphasis in both the general product information section of Hasbro's site and the pet-centric virtual world is definitely on Pet Shop products. (One section encourages girls to create a scrapbook and wish list to "keep track of the pets you own and the ones you want.") If you do buy one of the toys in a store, you'll get a code to unlock special rewards on the site. Yet there's still plenty of fun to be had without purchasing a pet. Kids can create their own animal avatar and play fun games like Connect 4. They can also cruise around and chat -- safely -- with other users, making the virtual Pet Shop world a fun place to visit.

Online interaction: Users can chat with each other on the site using predetermined phrases or by keying in words -- but a filter blocks any inappropriate ones.

This review was written by Erin Brereton

Review It

What parents & educators say

Based on 4 parent & educator reviews:

50% say there are positive messages
50% say it's educational

Read the reviews

Most useful reviews by all members

Kayla Waller
kid, 10 years old

The Cheerleaders

I Love MLP they are very clute and adorable.

What other families should know

Littlest Pet Shop (http://www.lpso.com)

common sense media says

parents & educators say

What parents need to know

More on Littlest Pet Shop

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Is it any good?

Is it any good?

Review It

Review Littlest Pet Shop

What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

The Cheerleaders

how i love it

i laughed

Wonderful site

littlest pet shop must be number 1

Just Got One Today

Apples Nd Cream?

Good game

Fun For Children

Not at all what we had anticipated

it is graet for kids that love animals

Older kids won't like this game.

nothing can really hapen :)

Boring website with a few fun minigames

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