Hello again…!

In this post I will talk about the empathy that we must instill in the little ones of the house towards DIVERSITY.

As we well know and I celebrate that it is so, we are millions and millions of people who have different skin tones, people who have that “Divine Grace” as I call it, for having a darker skin tone or much, much lighter than what we have been put in our heads as “NORMAL”. By the way, this word is not that I consider it one of my favorites. I go on…! There is nothing more wonderful than genetic variability. No one individual is the same as another, we are unique living and sharing the same home (our planet Earth) with many others. Different eye color and shape, different hair types and physical constitution, different cultures…Different….different and this is the wonderful thing about every human being, we are all diverse. How good is diversity and integration…! If we were all the same, what a mess of a world, wouldn’t it? Besides, we wouldn’t recognize each other.

That’s how diverse and particular we all are!

Unfortunately today, there are still signs of intolerance and rejection towards people who by genetic inheritance have a darker or lighter skin tone. A rejection that should no longer be allowed.

School-age children continually ask questions about themselves and the people around them, are able to put cultural and ethnic differences into perspective. They can learn to appreciate (or despise) the traits that make others different from themselves. In other words, this is the best time for parents to form their attitudes about cultural and ethnic diversity. The beauty of children is that most are born with a natural sense of fairness and justice, unless they are taught to be hurtful and cruel, children know that it is wrong to attack others, either physically or with words.

So how do we make this task easier?

It is important to nurture children’s natural love for people. It may not be necessary to teach tolerance, but it is important to talk about it. Another important point is to analyze our own attitude toward this subject. If you feel uncomfortable with people from different backgrounds, your child will sense it. Think about the way you talk about people. Start with yourself so that you can set an example. A good communication and talk about the subject makes the child feel confident to say what he or she thinks. We can also rely on toys or educational stories, giving them the possibility through them and a healthy game, to learn to accept people whatever their physical condition, their features or simply their skin tone. For example, there is a wide variety of AFRO rag dolls. A unique and educational gift to make children live and share naturally that we are all different beyond our physical conditions and where we come from. That what is important are the principles and affective values that we can give and receive from people. 

From Barcelonines, one of our main ideals is that through our toys, we try to become better people in every way and the fact of being able to offer them makes us happy. To be part of the solution with the help of our toys and thus improve our thinking and attitudes towards ourselves and of course, towards everyone in our environment. Although schools and cities tend to become more diverse every day, there is no doubt that we still have a long way to go. Never stop talking to your children about diversity, encouraging their questions and fostering an environment that accepts and celebrates everyone’s differences.

Here is a short list of some wonderful stories to work on DIVERSITY with your little ones. Lean on healthy toys, there is a great variety and specialized in the subject.

I hope with all my heart that you liked and helped this post. Let me know with a comment.

See you next time…!

And long live cultural and ethnic diversity…!!!!

1. Cirilo el cocodrilo. Autor: Almudena Taboada

2. Orejas de mariposa. Autores: Luisa Aguilar y André Lleves

3. Todos menos uno. Autor: Èric Battut

4. Monstruo Rosa. Autor: Olga de Dios

5. Por cuatro esquinitas de nada. Autor: Jerome Ruillier

6. Un bicho extraño. Autores: Mon Daporta y óscar Villán

7. El cazo de Lorenzo. Autor: Isabelle Carrier

To open the Blog I am going to talk about a topic that for me is the driving force behind why I make Rag Dolls. There are countless benefits that they bring but to not make the article so long, I will share those that for me are most relevant.

Starting with the importance that they are made of fabric, zero plastic, ECO FRIENDLY, friendly with the planet Earth, our home. They are healthy toys, as I usually call all kinds of toys that are not made of plastic. A way to make the little ones aware of the responsibility we all have to take care of the planet by stopping the consumption of plastics.

Dolls are a perfect toy to enjoy symbolic play during childhood. What we say… “children repeat what they see and say at home” is a perfect example of what I mean. Children adopt grown-up attitudes when taking care of their dolls, feeding them, grooming them, taking them to the park to play, etc. Here enters an issue that I consider important and that is that through playing with dolls both the girl and the boy assume care roles at the same time.

It is necessary to transmit from the early years the respect for motherhood and fatherhood, the importance of a respectful upbringing and the equality of roles in the family nucleus. It is essential to promote respect for motherhood, but also to strengthen a model of fatherhood that involves parenting from the first months of life. Let us not forget that men should play as active and involved a role as women in the upbringing of their children.

Toys have no gender. All toys are suitable for everyone. It is the boy or girl who has to decide what his or her ideal toy is, not society, and even so, the belief that dolls are for girls is still present, but it is not so.

I consider it necessary to fight to break the established taboo that only girls play with dolls, because if we continue to reinforce that stereotype, when this generation grows up, many will continue to believe that only women take care of babies. Although we have come a long way in recent years in this regard, there is still much to learn. Therefore, it is essential to promote these values from a very young age, and for this, playing with rag dolls is a great tool.

 Dolls are a reflection of the society in which we live, so we believe it is important to bet on alternatives that transmit ethical and respectful values, and that promote a concept of respectful maternity, paternity and upbringing to girls, but above all to boys.

Thanks to the wide variety of fabric dolls that are out of the canons set by society, transmitting these values through play with them is becoming easier and easier, since there are plenty of options and alternatives. Besides how soft and squishy they are, they last over time and can be passed on from generation to generation. In short, dolls are ideal symbolic playmates for all ages, showing a more respectful vision of femininity and motherhood. They transmit values such as respect, responsibility and care for others. It develops imagination and creativity as well as strengthens self-esteem. And from my own experience, it is so rewarding to see the happy faces when they receive a unique doll made with love and care.

I could go on and on listing the benefits of playing with rag dolls. I’m sure you have a few.

Now, I want you to be the one to tell me what you think by leaving me a comment. I read you…!

I hope you liked this first article.

See you next time…!

Very soon we will release the Barcelonines blog with interesting articles about children, family and, of course, rag dolls.