Hasbro Introduces the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen

You know my affinity for LittlestPetShop.com. And I am not the only one. The adorable Littlest Pet Shop toys are favorites of girls everywhere.

Back in October 2007 I announced on this site the arrival of the Littlest Pet Shop VIPs. At the time these adorable stuffed animals (and their online counterparts) were only available in the New York City Metro area and at certain online retailers. Recently, Hasbro expanded their Littlest Pet Shop.com VIP line to include more interactive pets. And Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s are now available in stores across the country!

To celebrate this milestone - Hasbro has created some new and awesome Littlest Pet Shop toys, including the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen. My daughter and I have been playing with this pen all weekend and have been having a blast!

What exactly is a Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen?

I would describe the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen as a cross between a Tamogatchi, a writing instrument, and a handheld video game.

This toy is an actual pen. In fact, it comes packaged with a cute little writing tablet adorned with a few of the Littlest Pet Shop characters and logo, some little notecards for writing notes to friends, and a set of fun stickers for girls to decorate their notes with.

But far from the standard pens that you find at the office supply store, the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen has, obviously, a digital component. On the front of each pen is a screen that houses a little digital pet. When you first turn the pen on, you must enter the correct time. As the day progresses you need to feed, groom, and clean up after your pet.

• Feeding your Pet - You must feed your digital pet 3 times a day. Breakfast (between 6 am and 12 pm), lunch (between 12 pm and 4 pm) and dinner (between 4 pm and 8 pm). There is fork and spoon icon on the screen that you click to find foods to feed the pet. This keeps your pet happy and healthy enough to play games. At the beginning of each feeding time the pen will play a musical reminder. If you neglect to feed your pet and try to play one of the games on the pen, then the pet will appear on the screen and shake it’s head “no” and point to it’s mouth to indicate that it is hungry. Once your pet is fed then you can play a game.
• Grooming - Before you can play games you must also groom your pet. Click on the brush icon and your pet will be groomed and ready to play.
• Cleaning Up after your pet - Just like a real life pet, what goes into your digital pet will eventually find it’s way out (this gave me a good chuckle!). Click on the shovel and dirt icon to clean up the virtual mess.

Games

Each Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen comes with 6 games. Three are already unlocked and you can play these if you keep your pet groomed, fed, and clean. You can unlock the additional three games by feeding your pet three meals a day at the correct times.

The first three games on the pen I tried are bowling, Fish Toss, and Match the Patterns. These are fun and easy for older kids, but challenging to younger ones. If you score a certain amount of points on each game you will unlock an additional treat for your pet to eat.

Overall the Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pen is a cute novelty toy that is a nice addition to a Littlest Pet Shop collection.
There are 3 varieties to choose from and they are available at Amazon.com and at Hasbro Toy Shop online.

Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s were introduced towards the end of 2007. You can read my previous review called LittlestPetShop.com. Originally five Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s were introduced, the Littlest Pet Shop VIP Cat, Dog, Panda, Turtle, and Penguin. These original Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s have now been joined by five more! Littlest PetShop VIP’s have taken on a teen celebrity status, so I will roll out the red carpet for the newest VIP celebrities:Introducing (drum roll, please!):The Littlest Pet Shop VIP Bunny:

The Littlest Pet Shop VIP Iguana:

The Littlest Pet Shop VIP Monkey:

The Littlest Pet Shop VIP Boxer:

And finally, the Littlest Pet Shop VIP Exclusive Yellow Kitty:

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Fellow parent, Lisa, has gotten fed up with how companies are marketing to children.

Children are growing up faster these days, in large part because of the media and what they are exposed to at younger and younger ages. Companies are create flashy, grown up, inappropriate products and generate sales by marketing to children.

As parents, we have seen the effects that these products have on our children and families. We get tired of saying “no”, get tired of answering “why?, why can’t I?”. And then we get grouchy, and our children get grouchy. And the cycle continues.

Well, Lisa has gone one step further with her anger, or passion if you will. She has created a non-profit organization called Parents for Ethical Marketing (PEM). PEM was launched in November 2007 with the goal of encouraging companies to advertise to children responsibly, keeping in mind the overall health of the child and the family. To accomplish this goal PEM plans to enlist the help of parents, the public, and the politicians. (Some of you may remember my mentioning Lisa’s previous sit, Two Knives in one of my past parenting tips on how difficult and dangerous it is to open all the plastic packaging these days).

Despite the youth of PEM, Lisa has already heard from at least one company that is interested in making a difference - Vision Conscious Brands. This company represents clients that are interested in the opinions of parents about marketing to children. Vision Conscious Brands has asked Lisa the following questions and she, in turn, has asked for my opinion. (Leave a comment here or on Lisa’s site if you want to put your 2 cents worth in as well)

Do you spend time learning about how products are made and pay attention to the social and environmental impacts of how companies produce, market, and sell their products? If yes, how do you evaluate this? Where do you get your information? How do you make your decisions?

My answer: Yes, I do pay attention. Since all of the recent recalls, I have become very cautious about where a product is made. If the toy is made overseas I always think twice before buying. I constantly read recall lists to see if products that I own are included.

As far as marketing goes, I say no to my kids a lot. If I feel that a toy, product, or message is inappropriate then I don’t allow it - even if “all the other kids have one.”

Because of time constraints (parents are busy people), I cannot research every item that captures my children’s attention. So my decisions are usually based on my perception of the product itself, the packaging and the related advertising. Word of mouth amongst the parent network, goes a long way too.

Do you provide your feedback to companies? For example, on how you’d like them to perform on environmental and social measures?

My answer: Not usually - again, parent time constraints. But if I am dissatisfied then I am more likely to call or offer feedback.

If you are concerned about the environmental and social impacts of toy manufacturers: Have you noticed the latest news about Mattel toy recalls and their safety concerns of the toys they produce?
Has this lead you to changing your buying habits over the past few months?
Do you think this news has impacted sales in a positive or negative way?

My answer: I have been very aware of the latest toy recalls. Because of the recalls, I have cut back on toy purchases overall. At the very least, I examine how the toy was made (if it is painted, etc). My children are out of the baby phase, so thankfully they are not putting everything in their mouths. I think there is an underlying air of uncertainty which definitely impacts sales negatively. If I am unsure about something, I usually don’t buy it.

So, there you have it - this parent’s opinion on toy recalls and marketing to children.

Erika at Momsational has another great giveaway - just in time for the holidays!

Here’s your chance to win a LeapFrog ClickStart First Computer for Kids plus Two ClickStart games. All you have to do is pop over to her site and leave a comment on the post.

Easy.

My son loves robots. My kids all want a pet. I can deal with robot but not a pet.

Today, as I was surfing the net, looking to fill my holiday shopping list I came across this robot pet. Hasbro FurReal Friends Squawkers McCaw Parrot may be the next best thing to a real live pet.

On the video at Amazon.com this toy bird really rocks! He talks, repeats what you say, and moves in realistic ways. The reviews are good, too. I may take the plunge and get this one for my son. It seems that the novelty should last into the new year.