Playing Well While Giving Back: Toys That Teach Children to Do Some Good

If raising just about any child in today’s materially-focused, celeb-geeked world is a Herculean challenge, then it may seem downright impossible to rear a kid who actually gives a rip—about his or her family, about the community, and about the world around us all. That’s why, when I ran across a handful of toy companies that are encouraging our kids to care, I wanted to grant them a little press.

Take, for example, Disney’s Club Penguin (www.clubpenguin.com)—the plush-toy company that encourages kids to donate the time and coins they earn playing in the virtual world to make a difference in the real world (more than 2.9 million players have donated 4 billion coins). Kids choose their favorite cause, then they get to direct how a $1 million cash donation is divided among projects and organizations that are serving our world.

Think that’s cool? Then give this a gander: Uberstix (www.uberstix.com), which is a construction toy engineered from recycled materials such as straws, papers clips, and water bottles, donates 5 percent of its profits to underprivileged schools within the United States. The company provides these kids educational programs that teach physics and technology—so when your kids plunk down their cash to buy this product, they can feel great about the difference they’re making in their neighbors’ lives.

And this year at Toy Fair, the company with a marvelous reputation for generosity returns: Karito Kids (by KidsGive at www.kidsgive.com) continues to teach children about charity through its six signature dolls and books, which represent different cultures from around the globe. Whether you pick up Lulu from Nairobi, Kenya, Piper from Sydney, Australia, Wan Ling from Shanghai China, or Piper from New York City—you’ll be making a charitable contribution to a child with your purchase.

To round out this list of do-gooders, I’ll give the final spot to the Drip Drops (www.thedripdrops.com), a company dedicated to helping children explore the world of color with the help of an adorable set of characters first featured in a children’s book series. President and CEO Tony Lawlor created the Drip Drops, then decided to dedicate part of his company’s earnings to the children of Grossman Burn Center. It’s a cause close to Lawlor’s heart: Lawlor is himself a burn survivor who once had to cope with the financial, medical and emotional traumas that a burn injury brings on. So even if moms, dads, and kids dig the color-saturated Drip Drops purely for their entertainment value—and the little critters certainly are addictively lovable—they can rest assured that their money has been put to good use. And that kind of generosity, we all hope, will inspire children to pay it forward for many decades to come.

Conversation With an Olympic Champion: Two-Time Gold Medalist Gigi Fernandez Takes a Swing at the Toy Biz

When international tennis legend Gigi Fernandez was contemplating ways to introduce her twin babies to sports, she stumbled across an idea: Why not substitute her children’s passive TV time with a DVD that would encourage them to be active over a lifetime? The result of her brainstorm is Baby Goes Pro, an animated series she co-founded and unveiled at Toy Fair 2010 (available at www.BabyGoesPro.com for $14.95). I dropped by booth 3234 for a quick chat with Gigi, who is the only Puerto Rican to ever win a gold medal and claimed 17 Grand Slam titles (she was first introduced to tennis when her parents gave her tennis lessons as a gift for her seventh birthday). Gigi told me all about her new product, her experience as an Olympian and a mom, and why she decided to do her part to fight our nation’s childhood obesity crisis. In fact, Baby Goes Pro is battling the bulge on two fronts: Ten percent of Baby Goes Pro profits have already been earmarked for donation to charitable organizations that promote active lifestyles for youth.

Michelle Burford: What exactly is Baby Goes Pro and how did you become involved?

Gigi Fernandez: I’m the co-founder of Baby Goes Pro, which introduces young children to sports. I’m a two-Olympic gold medalist in tennis—1992 in Barcelona and 1996 in Atlanta. I now have 10-month old twins (a girl and a boy, Madison and Karson), and when they started watching videos, I thought it was good because it gave me 25 minutes of peace and quiet! But I wanted them to watch something that would help them somehow—a product that would introduce them to sports—and there was nothing in the market, so we produced it. In our DVD series, we have an animated character, a coach named EMKEI—which stands for equipment, movement, know-how, externals, and instruction. Those are the building blocks of sports. The DVD introduces children to five sports: baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, and soccer.

MB: Are you hoping to steer your children toward a professional career in tennis?

GF: If they wanted to play tennis, I would encourage them—but I don’t necessarily want my kids to be tennis stars or pros. I just want them to follow whatever their calling is. And I want them to be active. The slogan of our company is “Inspiring a generation to move.” In this country, we have a childhood obesity problem, which First Lady Michelle Obama has been talking about. There’s too much inactivity in this country. We’re trying to do our part to change that by introducing young kids to sports, so that when they grow up, they’ll want to continue in sports. In our DVD, the monkey’s cool, it’s very colorful, and there are sing-a-along songs.

MB: How have your twins responded to the DVD?

GF: My kids love it! The boy is fixated on it—he will watch for 25 minutes without moving his eyes. The girl watches it, but she comes back to it when the monkey, EMKEI, comes back every 20 seconds to do a high-five or spin around! She loves the animated parts. My neighbor, who is 2, watched it for a couple days, and when she played soccer, she received the boll and stopped it just like the girl in the DVD! And she’s just 2! In making the DVD. We consulted a sports psychologist and a developmental psychologist, and they both said that when kids are little, they have an accelerated rate of learning. Kids are sponges! Philosophically, as a parent, you have to decide whether you’re going to let your kids watch TV. But it’s 2010, and my 10-month-old kids already like my iPhone! It’s a different world, so I figure that if I’m going to show them something on TV, I might as well let them watch something that’s instructional and educational.

MB: Let’s talk about your tennis career for a sec. When you were an up-and-coming tennis player, which tennis greats did you admire?

GF: Martina Navratilova was the number one in the world when I was a girl! I wanted to be like Martina back then.

MB: You officially retired from tennis in 1997. Looking back over a career marked by so many highlights, what was your greatest moment?

GF: Winning the two Olympic gold medals. When I won the first one, it was an unbelievable feeling! You’ve probably heard people say that it’s not about winning the gold medals, but it’s about participating in the Olympics. That’s actually true. Even though winning the gold medal was amazing, just walking into the Olympic stadium was the thrill of a lifetime. With the Olympics going on this week, it brings back so memories for me.

It was particularly thrilling to be in Atlanta in 1996, because we were playing at home here in the U.S. While we were in the tunnel waiting to go into the arena, the whole U.S.A delegation started chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A! U.S.A.!” The tunnel was reverberating! I still get goose bumps when I think about it. I’ll never forget that feeling.

Move Your Butt: Toys That Whittle the Waistline

If Michelle Obama is a tad worried, that’s enough to nab my full attention: On February 10, 2010, the First Lady launched the “Let’s Move!” campaign to fight an obesity epidemic that is jeopardizing our children’s health. Our kids come by their fat honestly—two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and one third of our children fit into those categories. If Moms everywhere are wolfing down chips, donuts, and soda—and I can attest to the kind of continuous stress that breeds such bingeing—why are we surprised when our little ones follow our lead? And aside from choosing differently with our forks, how can we put our children back on the path to good health?

Enter the 2010 Toy Fair—the spot where dozens of fat-fighting, figure-friendly playthings can be discovered with just a dash through the aisleways. Starting with Hide and Seek Safari Classic from R & R Games (www.rnrgames.com). Hide and Seek Safari Classic is a digital twist on the “hotter, colder” game many of us once played; the Seeker wand lights up to show your children just how close they are to the stuffed tiger—and once they’re within five feet of the tiger, the Seeker beeps.

Want to tempt your tyke to burn off a few of those cheeseburgers? Make exercise fun with the Toy Story 3 Space Shooter Game from Hasbro (www.hasbro.com). Your kids will need to stay in constant motion as they target enemy toys with the Space Ranger foam disc blaster, collect tokens, and ultimately bring their toys to safety—all while moving their buns.

If you’re going for the ultimate calorie burn, your kid shouldn’t miss the Wild Planet’s Hyper Dash EXTREME! (www.wildplanet.com). The electronic game requires that players race against time using target and a handheld unit. Set up targets on a tale or around a living room or backyard. Children zip around their makeshift racecourse (and this is the fat-slashing part) to tag their targets with the handheld unit.

One of my all-favorite offerings comes from Diggin Active, a toy company that promotes a let’s-get-moving lifestyle with its products. Squap is a throwing toy in which players use a mitt to launch and catch a ball as quickly as possible—all the while exercising their arms and legs. Another toy that’ll whip your kids into shape is Swinxs, a Toy of the Year (TOTY) nominated product. Using microchip wristbands, kids stay connected to the screen-free electronic console, which interacts with them through speech and sound; the games can be downloaded (for free!) from the site (www.swinxs.com).

As part of Michelle Obama’s obesity campaign, children will be encouraged to get moving for at least an hour a day. Here’s how moms and dads can play their part in that cause: We can make the would-be chore that we call exercise feel as much like child’s play as it did back when we were kids.

Girls Will Be Girls: Ode to the Shamelessly Frilly and Pink

I get it: In our quest for gender egalitarianism, we feel compelled to steer our daughters toward both baby dolls and toy trucks, tiaras and superhero capes. Yet the lion’s share of moms can tell you that, try as we might to socialize our girls to be open to traditional boy toys, the average 7-year-old girl often still opts for all things frilly and pink: She wants to dress up as a princess. She wants to wear glittery lip gloss. She longs to be a ballerina. In essence, she wants to become the consummate girly girl—one rainbow, pony, and tulle skirt at a time.

With apologies to all parents of tomboys (I can already hear you protesting!), I combed the floor of Toy Fair 2010 to find the playthings made to delight the quintessential princesses among us. First, I stopped in to see Puppet Workshop (www.puppetworkshop.com), a dress-up and costume company. Girls will go gaga over the lime-green Tinkerbell Dress and Wings, the Glittered Princess Dress with Hat and Wand (surprise, surprise—it’s pink and lavender), and the Ballerina Kit (complete with a tutu band, a silver tiara, a sequined star, and pink wings).

Next, I skedaddled over to Awish Come True (www.awishcometrue.com). Their Little Ladies takes make-believe to a new level with their featured dress-up items—as in the Rainbow Blossom Leotard (comes with a tutu and a tiara, of course!), the Tahitian Flower dress (in either turquoise or fuchsia), and the Violet Princess dress (which comes with matching sandals accessorized with purple tulle).

When it comes to fulfilling girls’ dress-up fantasies, I’ve saved my favorite choice (because of the vastness of its selection) for last: Creative Education of Canada (www.creative-edu.com) offers a Great Pretenders line of dresses, gowns, and tunics. Your daughter’s daydreaming will take flight as she imagines herself as royalty in the Queen Gown, made of non-itchy roached satin and decorated with silver jewels. There’s even a Juliette Dress and Medieval Gown if you’re girl happens to like time travel. And while you’re on the company’s website, you’ll also find a plethora of capes, knight outfits, and faux swords—playthings to keep your boys occupied while your girls slip on their fairy dresses, sip tea, trade secrets, and giggle their way into the afternoon.