I love Webkinz. I really and truly do. I think it is the best virtual world available today. It appeals to children and adults alike and it is fun (although it is only being marketing to children). My kids and I have gotten a lot out of playing on the Webkinz site and we have no intention of stopping or slowing down our activities.

All the lovey-dovey said, when Webkinz tries to mis”educate” its users, that’s where I draw my comfort line. I’m against this for two reasons:

1. I’m thinking Ganz and its Webkinz developers are mislead into believing that parents will only allow their children to be in Webkinz World if they are learning something. This makes me very, very sad. I’m totally fine with the concept of Quizzy’s Corner, and its quiz show type questions. They are lots of fun. That brings me to:
2. A good 10% of the questions have inaccurate answers. I chalk this up to most multiple choice questions not being entirely correct, but the inaccurate health questions particularly disturb me.

There is a “HEALTH” section in Quizzy’s Corner that (combined with their “ads” in their sidebar) advertise much too heavily for the dairy industry. My kids pretend it’s soymilk they are advertising since dairy milk is so unhealthy, and I happily oblige. Only our Webkinz Cows and Lil’ Kinz Cows drink the cow milk sold in the W-Shop, since they are the only animals that can digest it properly.

I’m happy to see Webkinz admits the existence of vegans, but I was greatly upset with the question I received today during the balloon blast game. (See screen shots below.)

Let me get the facts straight for all concerned: Vegetarians do NOT need to “supplement” their protein, as a vegetarian diet has more than enough protein! They aren’t “missing” anything!!! It is the omnivore diet that is lacking nutrients. Trying to tell children otherwise is brainwashing them into having poor health their whole life while believing they are eating the healthiest diet possible. Please read The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health before attempting to say such inaccuracies to children!

The following question’s answer is correct, but not in the way that Webkinz most likely thought it was. There are Four Food Groups. Please read current findings on the PCRM website for the most up-to-date and accurate nutritional information available today.

By: Lisa