Shared custody

Image: My Tamagotchi

I have now come to a point where many of the details in my project have been nailed down. However, one of the most crucial elements is still unsolved, namely, the need for a joint activity that helps the parent and the child connect over a distance, and, ideally, serves as an incentive for the child.

As you probably already know, the basic concept is that the child and the parent use the same system for different reasons, but still feel a (strong) connection. Until recently, I had no idea how to realize the concept. All I knew was that I'll have a cell phone on the parent's end, a stuffed animal on the child's end, and some kind of software that ties those two interfaces together. Nothing really specific.

Then, completely out of the blue, my former colleague Matt sent me an email the other day:

Just read your blog post.

Very similar concepts to my idea (and that's all it it so far) about
long distance pet ownership...

The idea is that two or more people (e.g. parent and kid) take joint
responsibility for looking after a virtual pet. Maybe the pet is
life-sized in the home and also accessible by mobile means. But "joint
responsibility" and mutual awareness is the key - e.g. it needs to be
walked once a day and it doesn't matter who walks it, just as long as the
owners coordinate and make sure it happens.

I love the concept. In fact, the idea is so nice and simple that I can't stop wondering why I never thought of it myself. Single-user virtual "custody" has existed for a while now, for example Tamagotchi, Webkinz, and AdoptMe, but joint virtual custody is new (at least to me). The concept fits really nicely into my project, since it has the potential of serving as a (1) separation preparation activity, (2) engaging discussion topic, (3) learning tool (time, planning, shared responsibility), (4) incentive for continuous use, and (5) fun toy at the same time.