Date: Fri 29-Aug-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

Gigapets-virtual-pets

Full Text:

School Days May Spell Disaster For Local Gigapets

(with photo)

BY MICHELE HOGAN

Kids, have Grandma babysit your gigapet, because no pets, electronic or

otherwise, will be welcome in class.

Children throughout Newtown who have been busy feeding and playing with

virtual pets will need to find "a reliable day-care provider for their pets,"

quips Erin Quinlan, third grade teacher at Sandy Hook School.

Mrs Quinlan had a student bring one in to class last year, and she says "no

more!"

These palm-sized electronic gadgets sell for about $20 each under brand names

such as Nano Babies, Tamgotchis, Rakuraku Dinokuns, and Gigapets. They beep

when they need attention, which is about every ten minutes or so. The child

must then figure out what care the pet needs to maximize its health and

happiness.

With the proper care, a virtual pet can live for several weeks, but if its

beeps are ignored, it will soon die.

Mrs Quinlan believes today's children already have more than enough to deal

with in school without this added responsibility. "At least with pet rocks you

could put them down and they didn't do anything," she said.

Virtual Pet Day Care

Local kids are beginning to explore day care options for their electronic

pets. Virtual pets do sleep through the night, and some brands will allow the

child to re-set the clock to fool the pet into sleeping when the child cannot

care for it. But children realize that this is not a long-term solution.

Kaley Kruger has entrusted her mother with the care of her virtual dinosaur

while she attends kindergarten.

Fifth grader Kaitlyn DiVanno is busy teaching a pre-school neighbor to care

for her compukitty.

A fourth grader thought that she would try leaving her digital doggie in her

backpack during class, and look after it only at recess. She is resigned to

the fact that her digital doggie might not survive. "It's funny. They are so

tiring when they are alive, but when they die, you really want them alive

again."

And she knows that with a few well-practiced keystrokes she can re-start her

digital doggie's life.