With all the new internet-connected toys coming out, it should be no surprise that Ty is joining in with their new Ty Beanie Babies 2.0. Every Beanie Baby 2.0 includes a secret code to sign up with for the online world at ty.com.

Signing up was easy. The hardest part was finding a username that isn't taken. It only took us two tries, though. Ty is keeping the kids' safety in mind, reminding them to not use their real name as their username.

Once they are in Beanies 2.0 World, kids can visit different areas, such as the backyard, the fun forest, the tree house and the farm. Here the kids can play games, make friends and chat with others. The games are different in each area. After you play a game you earn items to decorate your page in the "Big Book of Beanies". You can only view your own page. All items you win or find are stored in your backpack. To access those items you just need to click on the backpack and choose the item you want to use.

Making friends is easy. When you are in a chat room, you can click on anybody's animal, and send them an invitation to be your friend. They can choose whether to accept it or not. Hannah was thrilled every time she got a friend request. She was so excited that people wanted to be her friend. While she doesn't have a problem making friends, it can be a big ego boost for a child that might struggle in that area. It is a good idea to explain to your kids the difference between online friends and "real-life" friends. You can never know for sure someone online is who they say they are, so you need to not give out personal information unless a parent checks things out and says it's OK to do so. In Beanie 2.0 World, Ty has made it difficult, if not impossible, to give out that information, but it's best to teach them about the danger of it before they are actually able to do so on another website.

Two chat options are available: basic and freestyle. In Basic Chat, you cannot type in your own messages; you can only choose from pre-selected words and phrases. It is a very safe way to chat, because no personal information can be shared. In Freestyle Chat, you can type your own messages. However, it is not a completely open chat area. Only words from the restricted dictionary can be used. All numbers, common names, place names, and a variety of inappropriate words and phrases have been removed. If you try to type a word that isn't in the dictionary, the word won't show up in the message. Basic chat is available to all members of Beanies 2.0 World, but Freestyle Chat requires parental permission. The parents' email must be typed in, and an email will be sent letting the parents know that their kid would like to use Freestyle Chat and has a link to click to allow it or not. It can be changed at any time. If you don't think they are ready for that yet, you can allow them access at a later date. Something to keep in mind is that if your kid have their own email address they could potentially put their own email address in and get access without your knowledge. I set my daughter's account to not allow freestyle chat at this point but had her click on it once when I was next to her. A little window popped up asking for the parents' email address to get permission.

My 6 year old had a little trouble with some of the games. She got frustrated and gave up on some of them after her first try. She still had fun and asks almost every day if she can play in Beanie 2.0 World.