Parents' Guide to Webkinz

Website http://www.webkinz.com
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Common Sense Media Review

Dana Anderson By Dana Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 8+

Virtual world for real toys with many ads pushing more toys.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 8+?

Any Positive Content?

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Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 78 parent reviews

Parents say that while the website offers a fun and nostalgic experience for children, it has become increasingly frustrating due to issues like expensive memberships, account deletions after inactivity, and significant lagging. Many reviews highlight the concerning consumerism, lack of customer support, and the overall perception that the game focuses more on profit than on providing a quality experience for kids, making it essential for parents to monitor their children's activities closely.consumerism concernslagging issuesaccount deletionsexpensive membershipscustomer service complaints
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age 6+

Based on 286 kid reviews

 

 

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Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 78 ):
Kids say ( 286 ):

This site is a favorite for many elementary school-age kids because of all of the colorful, fun things to do that mimic real-world responsibilities. It does promote shopping and spending -- there are plenty of ways to earn and spend KinzCash (to buy clothes and furniture for the pet's room), on- and off-line. The ads for Webkinz products and other third-party ads are all over the place, and the site doesn't make it easy for parents to find where to turn the third-party ads off. Overall, Webkinz is slightly educational and mostly fun, which adds up for lots of repeat visits. Time limits are a must.

Online interaction: Kids can participate in KinzChat, which is a controlled, pre-scripted chat that prevents kids from sharing personal information. In regular KinzChat, you can only chat with others in games, unless you know your friends' -- then you can mail letters to them, and visit their Webkinz online "house." Even in KinzChat PLUS, which is a filtered chat that parents must approve, members can report other members who aren't chatting age-appropriately.

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Website Details

  • Genre : Virtual Worlds
  • Pricing structure : Free
  • Last updated : November 11, 2020

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