Webkins????

I am with Heather on this one. My cousin has also been lost to Secondlife.com and to me Webkins seems like a sneaky way to get kids hooked on the same kind of thing.

OK, I'm going to play devil's advocate here: I personally don't like the idea of teaching kids how to get around in a virtual world on the computer.

Over the past 6 months, I have been watching a good friend of mine decide to abandon her husband and 3 children because her virtual life on "secondlife.com" is so much more appealing. If a seemingly together adult can become so addicted to a virtual world and walk away from her family, where does that put a child's mind?

I would suggest if you want your child to have a webkinz, that's up to you, but the virtual world part of it should either be not allowed or heavily monitored.

There are now "gamers anonymous" groups and rehab programs for addicted gamers. Why start your child out gaming at such an early age? None of us would ever consider giving our child alcohol on a regular basis when they're young....that would be insane! Why promote another activity that appears to have a similar level of addiction?

Just my two cents....

We love webkins.

My boys who are 6 and 7 love them. A friend of ours told us about them.

I would think the right age for these would be 5 and up, although it is MUCH better if your child can read. You "adopt" your webkinz pet and get $2000 to buy it a bed, and other items it needs. You check on it daily and feed it, play with it etc. so it stays happy and healthy. You can earn more money buy playing games in the arcade or by answering math, science, and other questions at quizie's. ( my boys like this best, and have actually learned from it ) There are other things to do like the employment office, curio shop, bingoz and others.

Also if you have friends with webkinz, they can play games together, visit eachother's virtual houses and talk to one another. It is a safe place for kids because they can only chat by using comments that webkinz has chosen. ( by clicking on sayings. )

About what a previous poster said about it being a competition on who has the most webkinz, well, that has not been an issue with us. My boys have 3 each. They do not whine about getting more. If they want another, they save their money.

To find them, you can go to www.webkinz.com and click on stores i think. it will list stores they are available at. You can also take a tour of the site.

Hope I have helped you.

I don't think it's a good idea at all. They recently did a news story on this craze as well.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3033380&page=1

I have an 8 yr old step-daughter who has 8 of these things now and it is WAY too addicting. She's now in some weird competition with her friends on who has the most Webkinz.

When she was visiting us for spring break, she spent the ENTIRE time begging for one. I even let her call around to see if any were in stock. She called TWENTY stores before finding ONE that had ANY in stock. CRAZY!

At 8 years old, kids find ways to get what they want, but we finally put our foot down and said we weren't getting her a webkinz. What we did instead was tell her that we were going to reward her for helping out around the house without being asked. She knew that she needed $7 to buy another Webkinz, so at the end of the week, she tells me, "I hope my allowance is $7". We gave her $5.

She whined so much to her mom about getting a Webkinz that her mom went and bought one while she was visiting us. Then her mom brought the new Webkinz to the airport so of course, as soon as my step-daughter saw the Webkinz, dad was completely forgotten.

I think with all new fads, they can be properly controlled. I would suggest getting your daughter a LittleKinz (or however they're spelled) and putting strict controls on how long she can play Webkinz on the Internet.

Like all fads, they will fade quickly, so avoid buying a whole zoo full of Webkinz.

Our 5 year old twin girls got one each for their birthday and once you get the hang of it, it's great! You get to play games (some, for our daughters, were advanced, but some were great for them!), there are math one's, one's where you have to find the letter on the keyboard, using the arrows on the keyboard for some, spinning the wheel, etc. then you earn money to decorate your pet's room :)

If she is not asking for Webkins then I wouldn't get her any. My 5 yr. old was given an account by her Aunt, without her requesting it. She's only played it about three times since she received it in December.
Her Aunt, a school teacher, now lets her school children play it since my daughter has abandoned it.
RPocai

A., as someone already mentioned the candle store in Lake Dallas (right next to Curves in the red building and behind the Sonic on Main Street) has them. I bought my daughter the polar bear there to put in her Easter basket and paid $12.99 for it. I don't know if that's over priced as the other poster suggested because I haven't checked any where else.

My kids LOVE them! They are a great and inexpensive. Someone else described how they are used so I won't get into it again but my kids have really enjoyed playing with them and collecting them. They are between 8-10 dollars which I think is a great price. Mine son just has a couple of his favorite animals but my daughter has more. She likes to play with them and keep them just because they are cute stuffed animals and her and her friends play with them off of the computer too. I read one of the other responses about the "competition"...It doesn't have to be like that. Its a fun, cute inexpensive toy that actually teaches something...whats wrong with that? My daughter has saved up money to buy special ones and I think that is great. Buy one...buy all....just have fun with it!

Hey A.,

I personally do not let the kids do webkinz, but I have a friend who does. She has told me that the cheapest place for them is at Mardels in Lewisville. The Lake Cities Candle shop in Lake Dallas has them, but she raises the price (QUITE a bit, I'm told). Mardel doesn't. :) My kids are into neopets. You don't have to have a stuffed animal to play the games and learn responsibilities (feeding the animals,bank accounts and such). They are a lot like webkinz only with webkinz you have to have the stuffed animal to play or that's what I am told. I think anything can become too much as some others have pointed out, but if you moniter your kids and give them limits... you should be fine. It's completely up to you.

Have a great one!

C.

i don't know if this request is still open for comments, but first of all, for any of you looking, Hallmark stores had them for only $9.99 when i got them for my kids for christmas. don't know if they still have them now but check with them next time. second, so far i have not had any problems with my kids- ages 5, 8 & 10- going overboard with this toy. since the ones i got them over the holidays (they have only 1 each) i haven't bought them any more, nor have they really been insistent on buying more- not even with their own money. they do love playing with it online with their other friends...my point is that it is possible for kids to have this toy and enjoy this toy and not have it get out of control like the stories i have read from the posts. i think as long as the kids have various activities to do, they will not get completely fixated on one thing. get them outside to ride their bikes or something, or just play with them outside or indoors, whatever. and like one mom said, this webkinz thing is just another fading trend, so keep that in mind when you are buying them for your kids.

take care everyone!!

My eight year old has 1. There is a place off Main St in Grapevine that carrys them. And Owl's Nest in Southlake Town Square. I think they are harmless as long as you don't go overboard and buy like 10!! Have fun, and Good Luck finding them.

Oh my goodness A., it's like a disease :o) My 7-year old is addicted to them! She has 10 and wants a new one every week. It's a cute, safe computer program that she and her friends chat on. Take a look at the online site and you'll be sold too. Unfortunately, you'll have to rely on ebay right now to get them as no one in the area has them. Apparently there is a rail strike in Canada, which is where the manufacturer ships from. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions. I'll be happy to help!

In my opinion, webkinz are fine as long as you don't let them go overboard. I think kids can get addicted to anything. You just have to set the limits, and stick with them. Our 5 year old daughter has the cat, and we use webkinz as a privilege. Our 4 year old son goes on her account and plays the games, and she takes care of the cat. I think that's great that we have one toy that keeps them both entertained.