Webkinz - Long Distance Relatives

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

05 Apr 2007 12:12 PM

I'm always looking for ways to stay in touch better with friends and family who are far away. My kids aren't great about talking on the phone. And writing letters seems impossibly old-fashioned to them. So I was thrilled with a new way for them to get to know their grandmother and cousins better.

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law sent all of her young grandchildren some new stuffed animals. The animals were cute, but much more than stuffed toys. They are called Webkinz. They come with a secret code that gives the child a year's membership to an online site. The child "adopts" the pet, decides if it's a boy or a girl, and gets to name it.

Each pet gets its own virtual room that the owner can redecorate. Kids can earn Webkinz money by doing online jobs. With the money they can buy toys, furniture, and food for their pet. There's even an online chat, but it's constructed so that you pick pre-selected phrases. This is a great idea for young children because it eliminates the possibility they could share personal information or be exposed to anything inappropriate.

My boys love buying their pets clothes, swimming pools, and landscaping the yard. They also enjoy cooking for their pets. And yes, the pets have to be fed and played with. If you just feed them candy they get sick and have to go to the doctor!

So, it's a fun toy. But it's much more than that, because their grandmother has one too. And so do their cousins. Their grandmother can invite the kids' pets over to her virtual room. She sends them presents and notes. They play against each other in trivia and arcade games. My boys get a kick out of their grandmother being online and playing with them on their level. I think it's a great idea. We live very far away. Even when we do visit, it's hard to find time to just sit and play, because lots of relatives are around, too.

Their Webkinz animals have become a way for them to check in with their grandmother and cousins several times a week. I know they will always remember playing this way with their relatives.

For more on how technology can help you stay in touch with relatives, visit our Family Life forum on Connecting Generations and Geographic Challenges and the forum on Long Distance Grandparents.

Also see Fun With Grandparents for more ideas on generational fun.

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

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