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Today’s parents might be able to understand Webkinz
by remembering Cabbage Patch Kids or of course, Beanie Babies. These were toy dolls that came with official “adoption papers” and, believe me, kids went crazy for them. The same thing is happening right now with Webkinz.
Webkinz are soft, fuzzy toy “pets” that come with an online twist. The toys come with a password to unlock a virtual world called, most aptly, Webkinz World. Once the Webkinz owner is logged on, the owner can begin caring for their pet online and earn money to buy things for their pets. There is also a social aspect in Webkinz world. Kids can participate in online chat with other Webkinz owners. This is an exciting feature for kids and a growing fad, but a worrisome feature for a lot of parents.
The typical Webkinz owner is in elementary school. This is an impressionable time for children of this age, especially when it comes to using the web. At this age, most parents don’t let their children out in the real world unsupervised, and you certainly don’t want them unsupervised in the virtual world either.
We see the stories in the news about chat rooms being popular online hangouts for pedophiles and dangerous places for children. Because of the dangers involved in online chatting, parents are understandably worried about the safety of their children online, including in the Webkinz online chat room, “KinzChat”.
One thing that might ease a parent’s mind is how this chat room works. In KinzChat there can be no personal information given. Instead of typing in messages, the child has a dictionary of sorts with predetermined messages they can select from a list of possibilities. They can post a message about their pet, but not a personal message; everybody chooses from these predetermined phrases.
This precaution protects kids from typical chat room come-ons by potential predators. It also prevents children from giving strangers vital information, like addresses or descriptions of themselves or about their lives. There are no private rooms so there is no possibility of a private conversation between a child and anybody else. Because the chatting is anonymous, there are no personal connections. This seems like it would make KinzChat chatting perfectly safe. Right?
Maybe not. While Webinz World does protect children from predators on this site, it might predispose them for predation on other sites. By making children comfortable in a chat room environment, this site may inadvertently prime our children for public chatrooms, where the real dangers are, before they are ready.
To find out how you can protect your children from online predators and keep them safe, click on the link below and start protecting them today!
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