This holiday season, anonymous Good Samaritans stepped up to help families in need from coast to coast. These men and women, called “layaway angels,” plunked down large sums of cash at their local retailers to pay off the layaway account balances for total strangers.
In Bellingham, Mass. Toys R Us, a generous woman paid off every single layaway balance to the tune of $20,000, local TV station Fox 25 reports. “I have no words. I can’t believe someone would do that, it’s so nice,” Diane Brewer, a mom from Mendon who was working extra shifts to pay for presents for her son, tells the station. “I have been running around all week picking up layaways everywhere, so this is really awesome.”
At an Oldsmar, Fla. Walmart, one man (later identified as John Sanders of Jamson Labs & Power Kleen Corporation) gave $12,000 to clear the layaway balances for 55 customers, according to Fox 13. “Our theory was if people had it on layaway, they were maybe struggling a little bit for the holidays,” Sanders says.
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The Consumerist notes that this touching trend kicked off in 2011 after a California man dropped $16,000 to pay off layaway balances for local families. This season, Secret Santas have also popped up in places such as Cleveland; Iowa City, Iowa; Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Chiefland, Fla. and nearby in Lake City, Fla.; where a generous donor paid a whopping $59,000 to clear 300 accounts at a local Walmart.
Even NFL player Tim Tebow is joining in on the good cheer. The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes that the quarterback teamed up with “Good Morning America” to surprise shoppers for a whole week.
“You don’t understand how hard I’ve been working,” Damara Jarrett said after Tebow paid off her $701 tab. “And then I said I was going to take stuff off [the account] because I can’t afford everything, and then this. Just thank you. I just want to cry.”
With the type of news that’s been dominating the headlines, it’s truly wonderful to see something positive that’s sweeping the country.
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Tag: Toys
The Normal Barbie Makes Its Debut
Eight months ago, a fashion doll boasting “realistic” proportions made headlines. Modeled after the average 19-year-old American woman, Lammily was dubbed the “Normal Barbie” for not having the mutant measurements of the iconic doll from our childhoods.
After a successful crowdsourcing campaign, Lammily is finally here, with optional acne and all (more on that later). But will kids actually like her?
Lammily creator Nickolay Lamm decided to present his new doll to a second grade classroom in Pennsylvania. And no surprise, the doll was a hit.
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“I like her!”
“She looks like my sister.”
“She looks like she’s a regular girl going to school.”
The students also noticed Lammily’s feet can bend and look more realistic, unlike Barbie’s perma-arched toosties that wouldn’t support the weight of her body.
“I wanted to show that reality is cool,” Lamm tells TIME. “And a lot of toys make kids go into fantasy, but why don’t they show real life is cool? It’s not perfect, but it’s really all we have. And that’s awesome.”
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Instead of high heels, a tiny hairbrush, or a pink convertible, this doll comes with much more interesting accessories. Plus, you can buy a reusable sticker pack to give Lammily some cellulite, scrapes, stitches, scars, freckles, acne and many other real-life distinctions. Lamm emphasizes to TIME that he wasn’t trying to promote an image of violence, “Look, we all get boo boos and scratches. Life isn’t perfect, we all sometimes fall down but we get back up.”
Barbie’s impossible looks, size and even her career choices have been analyzed (and criticized) for decades, but it does seem lately that the 55-year-old doll has lost her edge. Barbie sales plunged 21 percent compared to the same time last year, according to the Washington Post, as young girls are gravitating towards Mattel’s Monster High dolls, Disney’s “Frozen” line, as well as games on tablets and smartphones. None of these toys look realistic either, so girls don’t necessarily prefer toys that look more like them, but they do go for what’s popular and what their friends are playing with.
That’s why there should always be space on the shelf for toys like Lammily, so we can teach more children that average is beautiful and flaws are perfectly normal.
Lammily is available for purchase on this website.
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LEGO Gets All the Attention, But This Toy Is Even Better at Developing Creativity
Move over, LEGO. Another classic toy is having a renaissance.
Colorful, flexible, and distinctly smelly — Play-Doh has been praised by The Atlantic’s CityLab as “a toy that encourages creative building like Lego, but does it even better.”
As we previously mentioned, some educators argue that since children derive such great benefits from the arts, STEM (for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) should be changed to STEAM (the A stands for arts), to highlight the importance of creative endeavors.
LEGOs have often been considered the STEM toy of choice, but the blocky pieces only fit into rigid angles and can’t change color. The beauty of Play-Doh is how it can create curves, textures and can be mixed into different hues. The possibilities with the squishy dough are truly endless — not to mention that it’s also much less painful to step on in the middle of the night.
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When used in the classroom or home, the colorful clay can be molded into body parts and organs (check out the awesome ear canal this girl made) or even be used to create electrical circuits. The toy’s manufacturer, Hasbro, even has a 3-D Play-Doh printer on the market.
Another bonus with Play-Doh, as CityLab notes, is how it’s gender-neutral. When it comes to the plastic blocks however, the kits are distinctly marketed to boys (secret agents, dragons, spaceships and robots) or girls (cutesy animals, dream houses, beauty parlors).
It’s unclear if Play-Doh sales have increased due to the emphasis on STEM or STEAM education, but a PR person tells CityLab they’ve shipped one billion cans in the past five years.
@MondayBlogs Conducting electrical circuits with play-doh http://t.co/i7M3LW5Zf1 #STEM #WomeninSTEM pic.twitter.com/DxLMQ6pBJI
— lynda williams (@lywilliams132) August 18, 2014
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Can a Plush Toy Robot Get Young Kids Interested in STEM?
How many parents have spent countless hours playing Candy Land or Barbies with their kids?
Chris Harden and Jeremy Scheinberg are two dads from Alabama and Florida who grew tired of their children’s toys. The two felt their children weren’t getting much out of playing mindless games, which is why they decided to create a toy that helps kids get a head start on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning.
In less than a week, the pair will crowdfund a campaign on Kickstarter.com for their answer to more STEM-focused toys. TROBO, which connects to an iPad or iPhone app, is a plush toy robot that tells stories of STEM-focused topics to children ages 2 to 7, the Anniston Star reports.
TROBO features two characters: Curie, named for physicist and chemist Marie Curie and Edison, (a shout out to inventor Thomas Edison), both representing STEM heroes. TROBO plans to release more characters if the Kickstarter campaign is successful.
Harden previously served as a Development Director of EA Sports, overseeing the creation of user interface technologies for games like Madden NFL and NCAA Football. Scheinberg was the COO of media manufacturer Alcorn McBride and has worked extensively on rides and shows for NBC, Universal, Lego and Disney.
“It defines us as individuals, and we want to share that to our children as early as we can,” Harden says, referring to STEM education.
While the entry point at which children should begin STEM education remains a point of contention, some advocates argue the earlier the better. In fact, only 16 percent of American high school seniors are considering a career in the STEM fields and are proficient in math, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
“As a society, we have to celebrate outstanding work by young people in science at least as much as we do Super Bowl winners,” President Barack Obama said earlier this year at the White House Science Fair. “Because superstar biologists and engineers and rocket scientists and robot builders, they don’t always get the attention that they deserve, but they’re what’s going to transform our society.”
Beginning with something as simple as a stuffed robot regaling children with STEM stories sounds like a good place to start.
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Meet the Mom Who Convinced Mattel to Change Its Product Line
The “Ella” doll looks just like any other Barbie, except for one thing: She’s bald.
Nicknamed “Chemo Barbie,” the limited-edition doll was distributed in 2012 by toy company Mattel to select hospitals and charities in the U.S. and Canada to help comfort girls going through hair loss from chemotherapy.
As Women You Should Know reports, the doll certainly helped four-year-old Grace Bumstead’s come to terms with losing her golden head of curls as she battled a rare form of leukemia.
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Grace’s mother, Melissa, saw how much comfort the doll (which comes with wigs and headscarves) brought to her daughter. But she was disheartened to learn that Grace’s medical facility — the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles — only had six dolls and would not be receiving any more.
That’s why Melissa created a Change.org petition that urged the toy makers to make more Ella dolls to help kids like her daughter. After three months and more than 100,000 signatures, Mattel actually agreed.
The company said they will deliver a new batch of Ella dolls to hospitals, charities and foundations throughout the country starting in August. They also plan to make new ones annually.
As Melissa shared online, “This means that every year hospitals and foundations will receive a fresh supply of dolls, so there will be more Ellas for kids with cancer like Grace!”
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These Kids Studied 600 Lego Sets and Found Something Very Unsettling
In 1981, Lego put out an iconic advertisement of a little girl proudly holding a creation made of red, blue, green, yellow bricks. Back in those days, Legos weren’t just for boys — they were for all children.
But look down the aisles at any toy store and you’ll immediately see that many toys (not just Legos) are gender-specific. When it comes to the plastic blocks, the kits geared towards boys consist of secret agents, dragons, spaceships and robots. For girls, there are the Lego Friends sets complete with butterflies, pool parties, beauty parlors, and pinks and purples.
And perhaps as a result of the gender discrepancy, these blocks are no longer clicking with all children.
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As the Human Rights Campaign reports, fourth and fifth grade students at Shorewood Hills Elementary in Madison, Wisconsin, studied 600 Lego sets and came up with some problematic stats. The findings are published on their site WhatItIsIsBeautiful.com (cleverly named after that 1981 ad).
The student researchers analyzed Lego beings and found that there were more robots, aliens and animals combined than there were girl figures. (The breakdown: 75 percent boys, 12 percent girls, 8 percent robots and aliens, 5 percent animals.)
Additionally, they also discovered that of 406 human Lego figures, an overwhelming majority — 94 percent — represented European cultures.
In a series of poignant letters, the youngsters wrote to the Danish brand, pleading for more gender and cultural diversity. One student asked the company, “First of all, why do almost all the girls in Lego have to be baking and suntanning? I love to bake, but it’s not like I cannot do rock climbing or snowboarding.”
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Another student wrote, “I think you should stop assuming that boys like blowing stuff up and girls like pink. I’m a boy and, personally I like pink. I think you should remove the whole Lego friends thing and make more girl figures. Maybe you could also add some African American Lego people.”
Remarkably, Lego spokesperson Steve Clines actually wrote back, acknowledging all the students’ criticisms (Read his response here).
“It’s true we currently have more male than female minifigures in our assortment. We completely agree that we need to be careful about the roles our female figures play — we need to make sure they’re part of the action and have exciting adventures, and aren’t just waiting to be rescued.”
He added that Lego is having “many conversations” about the concerns the students have raised and their comments will be shared with the Marketing and Development teams.
“After all,” Clines says, “we want to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow: that means both boys and girls, everywhere in the world!”
Sounds like these kids are literally the building blocks of change.
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Playing with Purpose: Toys That Encourage Girl Power
If you want children to change the world, it makes good sense to plant inspiration in something they’re already familiar with: toys.
That’s the strategy new company IAmElemental is taking with a series of action figure toys for girls. Their debut set, which just completed a successful Kickstarter fundraising round, is centered around courage. Each of the action figures within the collection embraces a different aspect of courage, such as bravery, industry and persistence, among others. IAmElemental takes it a step further by assigning each toy an “element” logo from a courage-themed periodic table.
“Our mission is to create toys for play experiences that allow girls to envision themselves as strong, powerful and connected beings at the center of a story of their own making,” write co-founders Julie Kerwin and Dawn Nadeau on their site. “We believe that when we tap into the power that exists inside us all, the extraordinary is always possible.”
The two mothers decided to launch IAmElemental after years of being disappointed by the toy options that lined store shelves, where action heroes and trucks are often reserved for boys, while girls can choose from Barbies and miniature kitchen sets. And they’re certainly not alone: both critics and parents alike have spoken out against sexism in toys, and the manner in which toys are marketed to boys and girls. And while each toy has a character trait assigned to it, Kerwin and Nadeau hope that kids will ultimately create their own superhero storyline to go with each product, and that the toys serve as a launching pad for young children to create their own change in the world.
Kerwin and Nadeau created IAmElemental to fill a void of inspirational action figure toys for girls, but they don’t want their toys to be exclusive to young women. The company is encouraging young girls and boys to submit pictures of themselves holding signs of their own elemental power as a way to spread heroic stories and foster a sense of community around like-minded young children.
Young superheroes can share their pictures and stories here.
These Women Invented a Toy That Truly Includes Every Child
Toys are not created equal.
Just look down any aisle at your local Toys “R” Us. From Hot Rods to Barbie dolls, finding a toy that’s appropriate for the kid in your life is difficult enough — even more challenging if that child has special needs.
Enter Maeve Jopson and Cynthia Poon, Rhode Island School of Design grads who started Increment, a company dedicated to creating toys that fit all kids, especially children with physical impairments.
Their first product, O-Rings, includes four colorful, stackable rings of different sizes, weights and textures. Watch the video below. Kids of all abilities and ages can play with them in games from ring tosses to obstacle courses.
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The O-Rings were inspired by a girl named Megan, who is blind and has other motor impairments that impact her balance, according to the company’s IndieGogo campaign. Megan had difficulty playing with toys with her seeing friends.
It’s a problem many kids with disabilities face — they want to socialize with their peers, but the proverbial playing field remains uneven. And young children may not understand how they need to change their play to include other kids who have different skill sets.
Jopson and Poon consulted children, parents, teachers and therapists, and created a toy that won Megan’s approval.
“We have seen the amazing benefit [the toys] have had on kids, families, communities, and the culture of learning in Rhode Island,” the team writes on this Awesome Foundation post. “We strive to create products that have a similar impact, and we believe in bringing inclusive play and accessibility into the heart of the massive toy market.”
The duo, recently featured by Women You Should Know, hopes to raise $30,000 to produce the first 150 sets of O-Rings. They envision eventually creating an entire line of inclusive toys.
Looks like there may be one toy that’s created equal after all.
[ph]
Meet the Kid Who Turned a Health Scare Into Inspiration (Again, and Again)
A type 1 diabetes diagnosis didn’t stop 11-year-old Anja Busse of Antigo, Wis. It inspired her.
Rocked by the diagnosis six months ago, Busse knew what would make her feel better: an American Girl doll going through the same experience.
But there wasn’t one.
So Busse created an online petition urging the company to create accessories that a type 1 diabetic like herself might use. So far, Busse has garnered over 3,000 signatures.
“I feel so different now and my whole life has been turned around,” she writes. “I just want everyone to feel good about themselves no matter if they have something ‘wrong with them’.”
Among her wants: a glucose meter, an insulin pump, and “pick-me-ups”— snacks that diabetics keep on hand to control their blood sugar.
“There are thousands of girls with diabetes and it’s really hard for some of them getting diagnosed,” she told Lisa Haefs of the Antigo Daily Journal. “It’s easier with a doll that looks just like you. You have someone to take care of.”
According to the American Diabetes Association, about 1 in 400 people under the age of 20 in America have type 1 diabetes.
Busse isn’t the first child to ask American Girl Doll for more diversity.
Last year, Melissa Shang, 10, who suffers from a form of muscular dystrophy, started a petition to feature a disabled girl as a “Girl of the Year” doll. She’s gained over 142,000 signatures.
Mattel, which manufactures American Girl Dolls, responded with a letter that read in part, “We receive hundreds of passionate requests to create a variety of dolls and books based on a wide range of circumstances, and we are always considering new ways to enhance our product lines.”
The uber-popular American Girl line already offers such accessories as glasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs, and an allergy-free lunch — so Busse’s request isn’t too far-fetched.
And it’s not the pint-sized activist’s only project. Busse and her parents started the nonprofit Boxed for Joy, sending care packages to kids newly diagnosed with diabetes. And the pre-teen is recruiting for the local Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund’s Walk to Cure Diabetes. She has a national sponsor, Shwings, a company that manufactures little wings to lace onto sneakers.
It’s an apt metaphor for a kid with potentially debilitating disease who keeps finding more ways to help others.
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Meet the Scientist Who Teaches Neuroscience With a Toy Cockroach
It goes without saying that most kids think bugs are cool. After all, there’s a reason why ant farms and insect jars have been popular toys for several generations now. Michigan’s Greg Gage is hoping to capitalize on this fasciation with bugs in order to spark a brain science revolution.
After a first career in electrical engineering, Gage fell in love with neuroscience and now he wants to share his enthusiasm with kids. While Gage was earning his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Michigan, he and fellow student Tim Marzullo gave lessons about the brain to kids at nearby inner-city schools. “But it was never quite as cool as what we were doing in our labs,” Gage told Melissa Pandika of Ozy magazine.
So they started to build a machine that would allow students to record when the neurons of insects experienced a voltage spike, sending an electrical impulse to communicate the desire to move a leg, for example. Gage and Marzullo set a goal to only spend $100 and use materials available at hardware stores to build their SpikerBox. Even when the original prototype failed, it generated enough interest that they garnered sufficient donations to continue their quest.
The eventual result — dubbed Backyard Brains — offers a variety of kits and tools for kids to launch their own neuroscience investigations, including the EMG SpikerBox that amplifies the “hidden messages” of the user’s nervous system, and the Roboroach, a kit of tools that allows the user to attach electronics to a roach to briefly control its movements through the microstimulation of its neurons. (The Roboroach is based on a current treatment for Parkinson’s disease.) Backyard Brains also hosts workshops to teach kids how to build their own SpikerBoxes.
The Backyard Brains website outlines the mission behind these products: “The brain is complex, but extremely fascinating. We need more people interested in studying the brain because 20% of the world will have a neurological disorder…and there are no cures!” Gage told Pandika. “I want to find extremely smart people who typically decide ‘I want to be a doctor’ or ‘I want to go to Wall Street.’ We’re hoping to start a neuro-revolution.”
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