Webkinz Koala Bear

My niece loves her new webkin. The cool thing about these toys is that they have created an extremely safe space online for your kids to play with their webkin. You'll be surprised at the good habits your child will pick up after only a couple of weeks with their webkin online. The toy teaches responsibility (they have to feed the pet), good eating habits and nurturing skills. I'm in the computer field, so I spent a lot of time researching the "safeness" of the online system and I was very impressed with how the company has locked down the chat and interactions they have with other children online. Additionally, it is strange to hear your nieces and nephews running around talking about how they are feeding their webkinz balanced diets and making sure they get enough exercise. Hopefully, they ll learn that they need to exercise themselves as well.

My boys are 4 and 6. When my 6 year old was the proverbial "only kid in the entire class who doesn't have a webkinz" we caved and got the polar bear. I have to say we were very impressed with the cuteness of the website and the variety of games available. It's a really cute concept. Of course my four year old soon realized he wanted one too so recently we purchased this koala for his birthday. The kids are loving it but it is easy to get sucked into the webkinz world and spend all day on the computer without parental guidance. It is the kids' new favorite thing to do and as long as they arent' sitting there all day I think it's a great interactive site for them to have some down time.

Here's a quick summary of what Webkinz are....

Webkinz stuffed animals come with a code that allows the user to register the "pet" on a website. Your child can name the pet, decide it's gender, and then log on to play with it. So, you are not just buying the stuffed animal, you are also buying access to a website that gives you virtual money to buy pet supplies and virtual locations in which you can feed, groom, and entertain your pet. I am assuming while you do this the "real" stuffed animal sits alone in another room. The virtual animal has a meter that lets you know how happy and well-fed it is. If you neglect it, it will suffer (or at least become less happy).

I suppose some could argue this is a good way to teach children about the responsibility of pets or to let them feel as if they have a real pet (but without the mess).

Consumers who object to excess use of video games and tv, probably should opt for a traditional stuffed animal that...Read more