Parents' Guide to

Zhu-niverse

By Dana Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Site for "Zhunatics" to learn more about little robot pets.

Website http://www.zhuniverse.com
Zhu-niverse Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this website.

Community Reviews

See all
age 8+

Based on 3 parent reviews

proveiwe
proveiwe Parent of 8-year-old
May 15, 2011
age 8+
i love it

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Educational value
Great messages
katelynhodge
katelynhodge Parent of 9-year-old
June 15, 2010
age 7+

the best

love it

This title has:

Too much consumerism
Educational value
See all 3 parent reviews

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (6 ):

For kids caught in the Zhu Zhu Pets craze, the site is fine for an occasional visit but it doesn't offer much in the way of education or interaction. It offers a few amusing, age-appropriate games, information about the ZhuZhus, and a few ideas to spark offline fun like coloring pages and cutouts. There's some YouTube videos here of real kids playing with Zhu Zhus while an offscreen adult prompts them to say what they like about the toy. This odd way to add video advertising to the site seems like an unfortunate attempt to put unmarked ads on the site without kids recognizing them as such. Of course, all of this fun is under the goal of selling more Zhu Zhus, even if you cannot buy directly from this website.

Online interaction: There are no opportunities to interact with others on this site.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the appeal of mechanical pets. Are Zhu Zhu pets really as much fun as a real pet? Do real pets always act the way you want them to on command like robot toys? Which type of pet is more rewarding to care for? What about virtual pets? How do they stack up against real and robotic animal companions?

  • Families can talk about sites that are designed to sell. How do toy companies use Web sites to get you interested in their products? What can you do to make sure you aren't pulled into the marketing hype while surfing the Web?

Website Details

  • Genre: Brand Sites
  • Pricing structure: Free
  • Last updated: November 5, 2015

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended website lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate