When we asked the daughters of Chicago Tribune employees to test a new line of virtual pets for KidNews, on the surface the assignment looked like kids’ stuff.
But little did our volunteers, who were participating in Take Your Daughters to Work Day, know that we couldn’t think of a better way for them to exercise their management skills.
After all, these Giga Pets Plus by Tiger Electronics weren’t your normal one-animal sort of virtual pets. Girls had to keep track of whole farms with crops, cows, pigs and horses or run pounds with up to eight barking and hungry dogs.
“It’s a good job-training exercise – even if their mothers do it (for them), joked Carol Kleiman, Chicago Tribune’s job columnist and a contributing editor for Ms. magazine.
Each daughter was invited to choose among four new Giga Pets (Rugrats, Looney Tunes, Giga Pound and Giga Farm). Then they were instructed to take their pet home, try it and call in with the results. Here’s how these future architects, lawyers, teachers, writers, Web masters and engineers fared:
– Jumped at the offer: Most girls were totally up for the job, saying they loved the multiple characters. “It’s more challenging,”said Stephanie B., 13.
“There’s more things to do and more characters to pick from,”said Sara G., 10, who tried the Rugrats Giga Pet. As with all the Giga Pets Plus, Sara could feed, bathe and play with her Rugrats, which talked and responded to voice commands. (Rugrat Chuckie’s fave expression – “A baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do.”- was a hit with Lucy B., 8, Kate C., 10, and other testers.)
– More than a 9-to-5 job: The girls soon discovered Giga Pets weren’t all games. They found it took real work to keep characters content.
Robin B., 9., who tested the Giga Pound, said, “A lot of time (the dogs) wake up in the middle of the night, and I can’t go to sleep because they need to go to the bathroom or want food.”
“It got a little bit tedious,”said Christine F., 12, who had a Giga Farm. “(My horse) got hungry easily, and I had to play with it constantly.”
– Learning the ropes: Before they could rule over a pound of digital doggies or a full farm, the girls found they had to earn their management responsibilities. For example, Lindsay L., 11, said at the Giga Pound, every day equals a year in the life of a dog. After five days, or five years, “you can get a second pet.”
Eventually, players can choose from eight breeds of dogs – from tiny terriers to Great Danes. Each breed of dog has different food, habits and training needs. “They act differently; they have different barks,”explained Robin B., who added that the Airedale sounded most like a real dog.
– Getting into a routine: The girls also found sticking to a schedule was key.
Karen I., 10, learned this lesson the hard way. “Never pause it over two hours. They just die,”she said of her pooches.
“My advice for anyone who has one is, `Always keep the same times and have a schedule,’ ” said Katie H., 11 1/2, who tried the Rugrats. “You really develop a habit of feeding, cleaning, playing, etc.”
– Quittin’ time: At the end of the experiment, most girls said they’d recommend the new Giga Pets to their friends. But not Karen I. She said she was throwing hers out. “I came back from school, it was dead; I came back from shopping, it was dead; I came back on Saturday, and it was dead.”
And the whole experience made Sharmeen S., 12, think twice about getting a real cat. “I wanted to have pet, but now that I think about it, I know the responsibility and I think it’s kind of hard.”
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(Giga Pets Plus by Tiger Electronics sell for $14.99 and can be found at major toy and discount stores.)
