You know what's worse than having your kids ask you constantly for your credit card information so they can buy increasingly silly hats for their virtual cats? Them not asking you because they've already copied the numbers down and are out spending your money on increasingly silly hats for their virtual cat.
To help prevent the reckless spread of silly hats* Virtual Piggy Bank announced they were partnering with Gaia Online. The idea is that parents set up Virtual Piggy Bank accounts, enter the amount of money their child is allowed to spend monthly, and then let loose said child upon Gaia's virtual worlds. When the account reaches its spending limit, no more purchases can be made. Smart, no?
Users of the Virtual Piggy Bank in Gaia Online get a rare in-game item.
With 26 million registered users, Gaia Online lets users create avatars, play games and socially network.
*This is not imply that Gaia Online's hats are in any way silly. I'm sure they're rather nice.