How Do You Use A Virtual Pet Adoption Website?

Let's say you just recently learned about the virtual pet adoption and are very much interested in adopting a virtual pet yourself. Being new to the whole virtual pet adoption website thing, you're probably not at all oriented on how to use one. Well, this article can guide you through and help you get on the right path to owning your own virtual pet. Virtual pets are a great addition to anyone and everyone's lifestyle, for they not only bring the joy of having a real live pet, but they can be for anyone! If you live in an apartment or have allergies and thought that you would never be able to own your own dog, cat, rabbit or any other type of animal, you are totally wrong! Virtual pet adoption websites are now allowing everyone to own the pet of their choice, and here's the good part, normally it's free of charge!

The first step you want to take when you are looking into adopting a virtual pet off of a virtual pet adoption website is researching. You will want to make sure that the virtual pet adoption website you go with is one that you will be very happy and content with. There are hundreds of virtual pet adoption websites that you can choose from, so you should take your time researching which one will best suits your wants and needs.

Once you have finally picked your virtual pet adoption website and have signed up for an account, you will then want to adopt a pet! There are many types of different virtual pets for you to choose from, most virtual pet adoption websites have an extensive line-up, ranging from a gold fish all the way to a horse. Some even have out of this world creatures that you can customize to your liking.

Once you have finally chosen which pet you would like to have, it is now time for you to provide a name for your own virtual pet and then become familiar with how the virtual pet adoption website works. There are many things that you can do to interact with your pet, all the way from feeding it to taking care of it when it is sick. Go ahead, take your time and make sure that you explore each and every option and avenue of the virtual pet adoption website so that there are no surprise if your pet does fall ill, or needs you to play with him/her because they are bored. Most of these sites are kid-friendly so it will be easy for you and your kids to figure out what each object or element in the site functions for. Hover over them and a pop-up message will appear, explaining their purpose.

That is it! These are all the guidelines that you will need to know when you are first looking into a virtual pet via a virtual pet adoption website. Research, name, familiarize and have fun! Just keep in mind though, that virtual pets still need to be taken care of, so it is important each and every day to check on your virtual pet.

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Introducing Your Child to Virtual Pets

There are plenty of games that appeal to children in the Internet nowadays, but there are no other games that have the universal appeal of virtual pets games. They're popular with kids and kids at heart for the reason that the enjoyment of having your own pet, be it real or virtual, isn't limited by age. If your an animal lover, keeping a virtual pet gives you the same fun as having one in real life. One advantage of keeping a virtual pet is you wouldn't need to worry about allergies that may be triggered by domestic pets.

Virtual pet games are a great way to introduce computers to children as well, at the same time there is the added benefit of teaching them about responsibility. The great things is that as your child grows up, they can behind to play these games online with their friends.

Children aren't born with a computer mouse in their hands, despite the fact that most kids nowadays are early exposed to the computing technology and the Internet. In fact, some children can be overawed by the technology and come to fear it. Though most kids are fast learners with advanced technologies such as portable gaming gadgets, if your child happens to not be in this majority, it is important for you to not place any pressure on them and make the introduction as fun as possible.

As a parent, the age when you should attempt to do this is really up to you, as you know you child best. However, it is important to start before they even enter school and begin using technology there. In most cases, you can start out by introducing the game to you child by letting them play it. However, for the more cautious children, or children who haven't learn about computers yet, it is a good idea to play it yourself first as they watch what you are doing. When they see how much fun you're having, they'll get curious and will gain interest in the game itself. They can choose to try it out for themselves when they feel ready.

When your child isn't afraid of using computers and the Internet anymore, it's time for you to choose the virtual pet game that best suits them. You can find great virtual pet games for girls and boys online and most are completely free. There are also games available for all the major gaming consoles and handheld devices. If your child is older, you could get them started with an online game, where they can create a virtual pet and interact with the other pet owners in the game.

Virtual pet games make a great introduction into the world of gaming, and computers in general. Not to mention, they'll get a taste of how its like to own a pet and get an idea of the responsibilities of caring for one. It's like hitting two birds with one stone. Get your child started before they start school and you can be sure that they will be able to keep up with the rest of the class, when it comes to technology at least!

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Teaching Kids Responsibility Through Virtual Pets

Have your kids suddenly started to bug you for a house pet? Maybe they want to get a dog, a cat, or just a guinea pig. The idea of having a per excites them, but are they really ready enough to take responsibility of taking care of a pet? If your kids have zero experience with pets, it's a clear indication that they're not quite ready  for a live pet just yet. It's easy to say that you can take care of a pet, specially when they see pet and pet owners playing and having fun in TV shows, making it look like having a pet is just pure fun. Most young kids are not aware of all the work necessary to nurture and protect a pet. It is for these reasons that you should strongly consider adopting a free virtual pet online for your kids.

By having virtual pets to take care of, your kids will get an idea of the commitment and dedication necessary to take care of a real live pet. Virtual pet adoption is a great tool to let you see if your kids can handle the pressure without you having to actually spend money or risk the life of a pet. Not only will your kids have a virtual pet to play with, but they will also have to fee and nourish their adorable virtual pets as if they were real live animals. By raising virtual pets online, they will be gaining valuable skills in time management and responsibility.

Another reason that people choose to adopt a virtual pet is to experience having a pet without all the associated problems of having a real one to take care of. Furthermore, you can try out numerous different online virtual pets, just like picking out the pet that you want to have in real life. There are many online virtual pet sites that will let you adopt a free virtual pet. You can get a free virtual pet hamster, a free virtual pet dog, a free virtual pet cart, or even a free virtual pet monkey. Think of whatever animal you can and want to have, the Internet will surely have one for you. Some sites even let you make your own virtual pet. You can chose different parts of animals to make a unique virtual pet. Your kids can design an alien, a monster, a ghost, or whatever suits your fancy. Or you can search for downloadable virtual pets that others made and uploaded to the Internet. Some sites even have talking virtual pets that tell your children exactly what they need: “I need water!”

The first step to virtual pet adoption is finding a virtual pet site. Most sites offer either downloadable virtual pets or allow you to choose and take care of an online virtual pet through their website by registering for free and logging in daily. Every time that your children log onto the website, their free online virtual pet will be waiting fir them. Your kids can feed it, take it out for a walk in the park, and even buy gifts and clothes for it. The benefit to an online virtual pet is that you have more options. However, downloadable virtual pets are convenient because you don't need to log onto the Internet to access your virtual pet.

No matter if you choose to get a virtual pet downloaded or rely on an online virtual pet, adopting a virtual pet will be a great learning experience for your kids that teaches them the importance of working hard, being responsible, and taking care of others.

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Five Online Gaming Safety Tips for Parents

Keeping Your Child Safe in Online Gaming

We know for a fact that kids love to play online games. They love it so much that they spend more time playing than studying or playing outside with other kids. With this fact in mind, parents should be aware of their children’s activities online, especially when it’s gaming. Although online games for kids can be innocent enough, they still present real dangers and challenges to kids.
Here are five essential tips for parents on how you can keep your kids safe while they play games online:
1. Do Your Research
The first thing parents need to do when their children show interest in a game is research. Before giving your ‘okay’ to your child to play a game, look it up. These are a few things that you should take note of:
• The game’s ESRB rating. These ratings are designed to help parents identify age-appropriate games for their children. Be aware that interactions online are not monitored or rated by the ESRB, only the games content itself is.

• Parental Control options. Most popular children’s online games have very extensive parental controls and a section of their website devoted to parents. Games that are less family-oriented or designed for adult players may have limited or no controls. Make sure the games controls you’re concerned about.

• Community. This is a harder point to research without playing the game, although playing the game before your child does is encouraged. Take a look at the forums of the games if there are any, to see how the tone and language is. Take a look at in-game chat if you play the game before hand, and definitely judge the in-game chat wile your child is playing.


2. Set Time Limits

Once you’ve given your go signal for your child to play the game online, establish time limits with your child. Online games are very social and encourage long hours of playing, which can lead to addictive behavior, particularly among young children.

Many family-friendly games have time limit monitors built in. If the games chosen don’t have a monitor built in, TimesUpKidz or KidsWatch are programs that can help watch how long your child play. Remember that nothing is better than monitoring your child’s play time first hand, as children who are desperate to do something will do their best to find a way to do so, even if it’s behind their parent’s back.

3. Check Chat Filters

Although most online games designed for kids have very strict chat filters in place, the majority of online games available for kids lack a monitoring or filtering chat. Almost every game, however, has a chat filter.

When allowing your child to play, go to the options or settings of the games and look for chat settings. There will usually be a “profanity filter.” If exposure to profanity is a concern for your child, make sure this filter is enables. Keep in mind that unmonitored game chat will often use words more vulgar than your standard curse words.

4. Monitor Social Interactions

Even though it may annoy them, the best thing to do with your child is sit with them while they play and monitor their social interactions with other players.

Use your best judgment in monitoring your children online. Younger children do best with having parents present during their entire play sessions. However, older children and teens will require less supervision and can be left alone more often.

5. Talk to Your Child

The most important advice for any parent when dealing with online gaming is to talk to their children about their gaming habit.

This process is two-fold. Part of the process means setting limits and making your child aware of not only what their limits are, but why they have them. The other part of the process, however, is simply getting involved in your child’s gaming. Talk to them about what they did, celebrate their accomplishments and listen for clues about dangerous encounters or poor behavior during their gaming session.

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Is Gaming Good for Kids’ Brains?

According to Dr. James Paul Gee, a professor at Arizona State University and a leading authority on literacy and the potential of educational games, “Your brain’s important, but not all that important”. What does he mean by this? What we’d assumed about the importance of brain functions – following rules, logic, and calculating – are no longer relevant. There has been a revolution in the learning sciences and the new theories say the human beings learn from experiences, that our brains are capable of storing every experience we’ve ever had, and that’s what informs out learning process. Following the logic, Gee says, the best kind of learning comes as a result of well-designed experiences.

Gee, who spoke at the Learning and the Brain conference, used this theory to launch into research-validated reasons why gaming is good for learning. Here are 10 truths on gaming according to him:

1. Feed the Learning Process

The best learning experiences have the following values: motivation, clear goals, interpreted outcomes, and immediate and copious feedback. Gaming has all of these components. Kids play games for fun with the goal of progressing to the next level and eventually conquering the opponent, whether that’s another player on the computer. What’s more, the social aspect of gaming: sharing tactics, experiences, and explanations, helps cement what they’ve learned.

2. Obviate Testing

The current assessment system forces teachers to teach to the test. Gaming holds out a different way of thinking about assessments: namely, that we don’t need it. Compare a student who’s taken 12 weeks of algebra classes to one who’s played the video game Halo on the most challenging setting. The algebra student must take a test to assess what he known on the day of the test. The Halo player has mastered the skills needed to get to the final level – and that’s his ultimate goal. There’s no need for a test in that context. “Learning and assessment are exactly the same thing,” Gee said. “If you design learning so you can’t get out of one level until you complete the last one, there is no need for a test. There would be no Bell Curve. It’s unethical to test a student based on one day’s knowledge. We have to change the attitude about testing on a government level.”

3. Build on Experience

With every new game, the knowledge and expertise pocked up in previous games can be applied to a new experience, a fundamental part of learning.

4. Redefine Teachers as Learning Designers

Game designers create well-designed experiences and social interactions. Teachers are designers of learning, and can create experiences tailored to suit their outcome. If we “re-professionalize” teachers as designers, they can create their own scripts for what they want their students to learn. This type of learning is based on good teaching, not curriculum per se.

5. Teach Language Through Experience

The biggest problem with using scholastic language is that it’s not used outside of school. “The language you learn at school is not the one you use at home,” Gee said. The best way of learning language is not from a book or a dictionary, but from applying it to an experience. A good example of this is when kids can decode even the most cryptic game manual after they play the game because they’re experiencing every image, action, and dialogue that’s described.

6. Entice Kids to Love Challenges

The gaming industry is making a killing selling toys and games that are difficult to master. “They’re selling stuff to kids that are complex and hard. And because it’s outside of school, it’s virtually addictive.”

7. Motivate Learning

If a student isn’t motivated to learn, learning is non-existent. It’s hard to motivate student to learn something like algebra without context, without motivation and the gratification that comes with mastering a video game.

8. Teach Problem-Solving

When it comes to problem-solving, research shows that if you teach and test facts and formulas, student learn facts and formulas. This doesn’t correlate to solving problems. But if you teach through problem-solving, students learn problem-solving skills, plus they learn the facts for free.

9. Encourage Risk-Taking

If the cost of failure is high, as it is in schools, then student are discouraged to explore and take risks. If the cost of failure is made lower, such as in games where players die and start over again, students are motivated to explore all their options. They rethink goals over and over again, and try out new tactics if something’s not working. That type of learning, risk-taking, can’t happen if the cost of failure is too high.

10. Provide Valid Learning Model for Schools

“We should use the learning principles built into good games in and out of schools, even if we are not using games. The learning principles can be built into many different curricula”.

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