August 27, 2008 1:26 PM PDT

NannysCircle to kids: Get organized, or else

by Dong Ngo
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Welcome to the virtual room where you learn how to stay better organized.

(Credit: NannysCircle)

Had a few kids and it's hard to get them (let alone yourself) organized? Well, NannysCircle can help you with that, or so it claims.

The service basically gives each individual of your family a virtual room that's full of tools for daily living. NannysCircle then allows you to set up weekly routines and tasks and mark them off when the child completes them. Nanny Points are award for each completed task. A child can then use these points to get virtual decorations for their room, as well as to buy stuff at the Nannys stores.

On the other hand, you can also exercise discipline for uncompleted tasks or misbehavior in the form of strikes that appear on a child's virtual wall. This easy system of reinforcement and consequences is designed to motivate children to manage their lives and have fun doing it.

Personally, I think this could be a helpful service for kids who don't play virtual-life games such as The Sims. From real life's perspective, though, like anything online, it might take too much of the kid's time and keep him/her from taking care of his/her real room. Also, what are you gonna do when the kid's excuse is that the wireless router is acting up?

After a 15-day free trial, NannysCircle's service costs $9.95 per month for unlimited use for up to three family members (one parent and two children). The cost increases to $12.95 or 14.95 per month for four children and six children, respectively.

Dong Ngo is a CNET editor who covers networking and network storage, and writes about anything else he finds interesting. You can also listen to his podcast at insidecnetlabs.cnet.com. E-mail Dong.
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