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MyChatMan was very kind to sponsor this giveaway, and I have to definitely say it was a very interesting product! It is very unique, and something I haven't seen before.

MyChatman is an interactive toy that your children can play with. Your children can make it do or say say certain things, and have a lot of fun doing so. I showed it to my friends daughter who was five years old, and she really enjoyed it. I think though this product is best suited for children between the ages of 7-11, as she was mainly interested in playing with the interactive features. (She wasn't interested too much in 'chatting', but just pushing the buttons). However, as soon as it started interacting with her, it really piqued her interest.

One thing most parents would be concerned about for their children while surfing the internet is fun and safety, and I think this product does a pretty good job of providing both. It is more than just a toy, it is an actual "platform" in which you interact with others and the internet. While I was testing their platform, and found that I could still search for some 'undesirable' content, the software is automatically updated. This means, that as the service becomes more popular, it would be very easy for the company to update the safety and security features as well.

In terms of fun, the ChatMan platform has a few different areas where children can play. They have downloadable games, preselected youtube videos geared towards children, and preselected videos for homework help and so forth. I tried out some of the games, watched some of the videos, and could see where children would have fun getting involved with it. (Heck, I enjoyed some it myself! :) So I guess you could say I'm a big kid!)

A few things though that I think would make this product even better though. One, if it came in different colors, I think it would be more appealing to both parents and children (for example, blue for boys, and pink for girls). Right now it comes in a yellow color. The second thing would be if it was possible to 'accesorize' the actual chatman. (For example, put on different ears, add a 'cowboy' hat, etc, etc). The girls automatically wanted to be able to put on wigs and so forth. With the colors and accesorizing, I think then it would be a even more fun for children and get them really interested in it.

Overall, I think a lot of thought has been put into making this a fun and safe site for children. The key thing though is getting them to interact with the toy. Just looking at it, some children thought it was just 'ok'. However, as soon as they typed something in, or pushed a button, and it interacted with them, they became very interested. If you have young children, then I would recommend showing them this. I would recommend this 4.5/5.0 in terms of fun, safety and entertainment.


SPECIAL NOTE! Now through mid-April toysrus.com has a Special spring promotion featuring Chatman at special pricing of $49.99. See ToysRUs for details...