Webkins. . .

. . . I kept hearing the word in passing. Then I saw them in Costco - a two-pak. "What in the world are these Webkins?" So on Christmas Day I was nursing my 4 week old and decided to use the time to investigate. Thanks to my veritable wealth of internet-knowledge (okay, I googled it) I found the Webkins website in two seconds flat.

Turns out this is a really cute idea. Webkins (Ganz Inc.) are stuffed animals. You buy one, your child goes online and "adopts" it, then it becomes a virtual pet. The pet gets its own room, and you can earn Kins-cash to buy more "furniture" and "food" by going to the learning center or game room. The child needs to feed and exercise the pet regularly to keep it happy. (sound familiar?) Your child's pet can even have their friend's pet come over for a visit. And it's a worry-free site - there are fantastic safeguards to prevent location and name sharing.

One could criticize the ever increasing virtual state of our world, but I'll save that for another blog. As a mom, I think this is a really cute idea for my child. Get the whole story for yourself by clicking here and taking the tour.