American writer and civil rights activist Audre Lorde once said, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” Kids are beautiful creatures no doubt. Little birds still without wings to fly but desperate to explore the world around them. It’s our duty as parents to nurture them and groom them for the flight ahead. We all want our kids to be wildly successful, and so we invest so much time and energy worrying about how to best discipline them, the right way to teach them empathy and how to love; but the most crucial lesson every child ought to know is learning to love their differences, and that’s something the 18-inch doll ‘Playtime by Eimmie’, can significantly help with.
Over the years, I’ve listened to numerous conversations between parents/guardians and their children. Conversations where they discuss their family values, hopes, and dreams. It’s no longer news that kids ask the strangest questions, but many parents get stuck when asked questions concerning our obvious differences. Questions like, “Why am I the only boy who likes to play princess?” or “Why is my skin color different from the other kids?” Kids may be little, but they do notice these differences. While sometimes these differences may be things to be proud of (like being able to speak French and Spanish fluently), oftentimes, they’re left wondering if their differences meant something was wrong with them.
How We Can Help Children Love Their Differences
Other than her parents, the average American girl’s doll collection are her favorite things on the planet, but the 18-inch doll Playtime by Eimmie is nothing like any doll she has ever seen. Below are three crucial ways we can teach our children to appreciate their differences.
1. Learning To Appreciate Diversity Through Play. This can be done by gathering a group of kids and playing a game that will help them notice all of their similarities and their differences, one child from another. Such a game must utilize their similarities and differences at the end of which a goal must be achieved. For instance, at the end of such a game involving playing with dolls, the children should share their experiences and talk about how fun it was sharing similar interests in doll-playing. Then talk about what makes each doll unique and how these differences are a reflection of who they are.
2. Understanding That Different Is Not Always Bad. Who says that being different has to be a bad thing? Getting custom fitting 18-inch doll clothing might come as a beautiful game for the kids to explore their craft in clothing design, but just because one kid wants her 18-inch doll to wear boy clothes doesn’t make her weird or wrong. Being different is what sets you apart from the crowd and makes you irreplaceable.
3. Teach Your Child Empathy. “Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another.” – Alfred Adler. This very important character makes our kids amazing individuals in their social groups, and it can quickly be developed by playing with dolls. Playing with dolls involves a lot of imagination and role-playing, but the 18-inch doll, the doll furniture, and all the American girl doll accessories give Playtime a life-like appeal— like a real baby. Letting your kids play with these dolls, soothe them when they cry, feed them when they’re hungry, and cuddle them when they’re sad (all in their imagination) teaches them to empathetic.
Having conversations with our kids about what makes us different shouldn’t be an arduous task. With the 18-inch doll Playtime by Eimmie, we can help our children learn to love and appreciate the differences that make them unique.
