I'm sorta glad my kids are still pretty clueless about Webkinz,
which appears to be the newest form of crack for kids. Here's the
deal: there are 44 different stuffed animal "pets" you can buy
(collect them all!), and then register online at the Webkinz Cracksite
to create a virtual version of your animal, interact with it online,
create a room for it, play games, and chat with other little
crackheads. Kids are encouraged to "check back every day" and to
get their friends involved. I have to say though that these
little guys are charmingly cute and the website seems well put-together
with a lot of attention paid to creatng a Webkinz Addictive Empire
(modeled after Disney, no doubt).
Apparently, these little guys are also creating quite a stir in schools, and a school in England has banned them entirely.
I can quite understand. What with the "everybody else has one"
phenomena, and the fact that some kids were using the school's
computers to check in with their Kinz, it must have become rather
disruptive. My children's school seems to frown on toys in the
classroom (although my 5th grader seems obsessed with Lego Star Wars
minifigs, and the 1st grade is overrun with bobbleheads -- ugh), which
I find fortunate. What about your children's schools? Have
the CrackKinz made an appearance?
