Maybe Webkinz Not That Bad

We're into the third day of both kids having Webkinz (and of only Sam having the Wacky Zingo -pet for Webkinz that allows him to play all sorts of cool games) and I have to say its going much better than expected. Sam needs help logging in, but then can navigate the site pretty easily - to find the games he wants to play. He recognizes the titles of things he likes to do, and so only needs help if doing something new. And Maria has dealt with the unfairness of not having a Wacky Zingo yet very well - but I did promise I would get her one soon.

The only problem, really, is that Sam is all about the games but not into taking care of his Webkinz. You have to feed it, put it to bed, etc. And I think its a combination of his not being able to read, along with only really wanting to play the games, but no matter the reason, poor Pluto ends up "sick" pretty often. So we have to take him to visit "Dr. Quack." (The kids don't get this play on words but I appreciate it.) Anyway, this morning Dr. Quack reminded Sam that poor Pluto needs to be fed HEALTHY foods and needs to be put to bed at night before logging off. I helped him buy an apple and some milk and fed it to Pluto, after which Dr. Quack pronounced him cured. But I knew this putting him to bed thing was going to a problem upon logging in each morning. So I turned to the household Webkinz expert.

Maria said, "Sam can't put Pluto to bed until he BUYS him a bed."

Me: "How much does that cost?"

Maria "About 150 Kinzcash."

Me: "How much does Sam have?"

Sam: "About 50."

This is not good. Sam's poor dog is not going to have a bed for several more days - and that's only if he quits buying stuff the dog doesn't need, like the hat he bought yesterday. I finally reminded myself that this is a game -not even my game - and supposed to be fun, so I resigned myself to getting a lecture from Dr. Quack every morning until I convince Sam to buy his poor dog a bed. (I did check with Maria that the dog would not actually die under any circumstances.)

Then a little while later both kids were playing on their Webkinz accounts on different computers, and Maria said "I'm going to buy a bed for Sam's dog and send it to him since he doesn't have enough money." Isn't that cute?

So the good thing about Webkinz, is the kid's pets can play games together, buy and send things to each other, and Sam and Maria can play it together. Maybe its not so bad after all.