Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this controlled site allows kids to "adopt" their store-bought toy animal and care for it online for one year. 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), and kids can purchase other Webkinz toys on the site's store. Also, sprinkled in with the fake "ads" (links to other areas of the site and "ads" telling kids to go out and play or to eat fruit) are a few real ads (for kids' movies, for example). Kids can participate in "controlled chat" (the exchanges are pre-scripted and personal information can't be shared). There are lessons to be learned about the responsibility of pet ownership: If a pet isn't fed regularly, he or she gets "sick" and makes a sad, droopy face. Happiness and health levels are shown on a meter that's affected by how often the pets are visited on the site, but if a kid loses interest in the site, the pet will be "sad" but won't actually die. With constant new features and daily and hourly events, kids might feel they miss out if they aren't online constantly, so you might want to limit computer time.
Families can talk about the pros and cons of computer play. How can you balance computer play with playing in the "real" world? Families can also talk about the responsibilities of caring for a pet. What do you need to do to care for a pet?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Amy Weaver Dorning
Webkinz, a division of the stuffed animal company Ganz, has taken the pretend pet concept up a notch by selling fuzzy critters and plastic figures that your kids can play with in real life and online at WEBKINZ.COM. Here's how it works: Your child buys a Webkinz or Lil'Kinz toy online or from a toy store from at little as $5. These highly sought-after animals come with a secret code that allows your child a year of free access to Webkinz's colorful, interactive site called Webkinz World -- a surreal place where virtual pets wear clothes and aren't allowed to die. Once the simple adoption process is completed, a user name and password are established, and the new pet owner can set up the pet's room where the furry friend gets fed and dressed. The pet can be moved around the room by dragging the cursor and can communicate its wishes with the owner -- and even invite friends' pets over for visits. Each Webkinz animal comes with KinzCash, which the owner can use in the virtual W Shop to buy pet food, clothes, and more. More "cash" can be earned on the site by answering quizzes at Quizzy's Question Corner, playing arcade games, and entering contests.
Overall, this site is fun, especially when the secret code is entered and the virtual version of the toy animal greets the child -- but time limits are a must. The ever-changing content and contests can easily suck your kid in for hours at a time.
Fans of this site might also enjoy Imbee.com or ClubPenguin.com
Reviewed: 04/10/2007
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Social BehaviorKids can be rejected quite easily -- even in a controlled chat environment -- which can be hurtful to those who don't understand why. |
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CommercialismYou have to buy a toy (either stuffed or plastic) to get access to the Web site (prices start around $5). Webkinz mostly promotes their own brand with fake "ads" linking kids to other areas of the site, but a few real ads (for kids' movies) are thrown in the mix. Though actual products can't be purchased on the site, kids go into the W Shop and use virtual cash to buy clothes, furniture, and objects for their pets. Kids can also add other toys to their "wish lists." |
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Educational ValueTeaches kids about the responsibility of pet ownership. |
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