C'mon Webkinz, They're Kids!

If you have a child under the age of 10, you may be familiar with the Webkinz craze. Small stuffed animals that come complete with a special pouch and secret code that permits entry into a web world for these fuzzy creatures. For a web-obsessed mom like me, this is a homerun toy! Except for the fact, that my 7-year old daughter, Riley, was in tears after a 30-minute failed attempt to compose a screen name (that hadn't already been taken). She scribbled feverishly on a stack of post-it notes every pet name she could think of, every friend, relative, and favorite color. No luck. "I'll never get to my Webkinz home!" Tears ensued. I'm surprised that the feedback didn't suggest a combination that would work. Seems a simple improvement, not to mention a significantly improved child/parent experience.

After venting a bit of my frustration around the office, I found that I wasn't the only Webkinz parent in the building. The others had made it past the screen name hurdle, and were enjoying the experience with their kids, but pointed out a few other oddities like Today's Events, a screen that itemizes activities you can participate in by the hour. Not surprisingly, the schedule doesn't start until 4pm, but oddly, it runs until 11pm. And it's set for EST, so I doubt that this is talking to the families on the West Coast. I can see the parental role in the whole thing more clearly now--the 10pm-11pm activity is getting free KinzCash for the kiddies to spend on their animals.