Webkinz World: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Webkinz World is a virtual world where children have an opportunity to clothe, house, and generally give their webkinz a good life. The magic starts at the store when a Webkinz is purchased. With the code on the new stuffed pet's collar, a new virtual pet that matches the real one in all likeness is born. After adoption, the child can fill the virtual pet's room with lots of furniture, decorations, and other fun stuff.

Some kids spend a few hours a day on Webkinz.com, while others spend a great deal of time and money involved in this virtual world.

This article is, in part, a detailed interview with my daughter - an intelligent 8 year old user of Webkinz World. While we limit her time on the website to an hour a day (with some extra time on weekends for "good behavior"), she now maintains a thriving Webkinz household of fourteen little pets and counting.

Yesterday marked her first year anniversary as a Webkinz World user. Over that year she learned a great deal about the world of Webkinz - both what makes it a wonderful place to play and raise your new little virtual pets, as well as some things that must be tolerated.

The Good

The following list of items are those things in Webkinz World that my daughter loves.

The Wishing Well

What it is: This game is similar to a slot machine. You press the "Wish" button, and with a little luck if two or three of the pictures match, you get Webkinz points.

Why she likes it: "I like it because it gives you a lot of Webkinz points."

The Colors and Design

The look of the Webkinz website is very colorful and fun. The real-life stuffed Webkins are adorable, and the virtual pets on the website are just as cute and fuzzy. They make you want to spoil them to pieces. If they are well fed and cared for, these Webkinz pets are generally happy. The design of this website is a lot like the classic Sims series of PC games where you direct the life and home of a person. In Webkins, children get to purchase furniture and decoration for their pets' home.

Why she likes it: "I like it because they're very colorful and the people who make the website draw very good."

The Wish Factory

What it is: Whenever adopt a pet, you receive an "exclusive item" like a colorful palm tree light or a sparkly plant. If you want an exclusive item but don't want to pay the $10 to $15 for a new pet, you can visit the Wish Factory. At the Wish Factory, you deposit ten tokens which you've earned or won elsewhere on the website, and in return you get to choose an exclusive item from a list.

Why she likes it: "I like the Wish Factory because you can get exclusive items without getting a pet."

The Wheel of Wow

What it is: Much like the Wishing Well, the Wheel of Wow is another game of chance. Spinning the wheel can land you some Kinz cash, an item for your pet's house, or a treat for your pet.

Why she likes it: "I like it because you don't know what you're going to get, and it's a surprise."

The Bad

Playing on Webkinz.com can be a great deal of fun for any child. You get to decorate your pets home, play lots of very fun games, and even visit the "Tree house" where you can spend time with other visitors of this virtual world. However, not all is perfect at the world of Webkinz. Just as with many other social networking websites throughout the internet, there are both pros and cons. According to this 8 year old, the following items represent the top three things that she doesn't like about Webkinz World.

Webkinz Academy

What it is: Webkinz Academy is a place where your pet can go to learn. After picking a class you want your pet to attend, you then navigate your pet through training in a variety of arcade-like scenarios.

Why she doesn't like it: "I don't like it because the training is too hard."

Automatically Deleting Friends

What it is: Over time, Webkinz has set a cap on the number of friends users can have on their "friends list". Prior to March 2008, this limit was set at 500 friends. In March of 2008, Webkinz lowered this limit to 300 friends. For more information on any of the most recent policy changes and limitations at Webkinz, a great website to follow is webkinzparents.com.

Why she doesn't like it: "I don't like it because I want to have a lot of friends, and people should be able to have as many friends as they want."

Unfair Point System

The method to earn points within this virtual world, is to play games. Some of these games require skill, while others require sheer luck. From the perspective of my daughter, some of these games are much more difficult than others - yet very often it seems as though the awarded points do not match those levels of difficulty. At one point, my wife and I attempted to play some of these games, and we also found that some games that were extremely easy awarded equal points as games that were difficult - and in all cases the points aren't a whole lot. The system requires many hours of game-playing in order to accumulate enough points for something like furniture.

A typical game played for about 20 minutes, if you do well, will award about 20 points. This means that in order to earn something as simple as a couch for your pet, you would need to spend over three hours playing games. And that's only if you play them well.

Why she doesn't like it: "I don't like it because it's hard to get a lot of points to buy stuff for my pets."

The Ugly

Ever since my daughter purchased her first real-life Webkinz pet over a year ago, like the rest of the children throughout the United States and the world, Webkinz captured her imagination. She spends a good deal of her time exploring, playing, and communicating with others within this magical online community of children.

As social networking becomes more and more mainstream, and we all embrace those particular social networks that are filled with people who share similar interests, we need to remember that our children are also an integral part of this evolving world. Many people choose to shield their children from this world. But the simple truth is that the internet is becoming more and more integrated into the normal daily activities of our lives and our children's lives. Their futures depend on a thorough understanding of this virtual world.

In this way, with moderation and careful monitoring, children can learn how to harness the power of the internet and social networking for their benefit in the future.