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Dealing with whining, meltdowns, and tantrums?
SnuggleBuddies to the rescue! This plush toy collection with a purpose is ready to help children around the world practice noticing, naming, and regulating their emotions.
These huggable 13" plush toys engage children on both an emotional and a sensory level, featuring expertly embroidered details, vibrant colors, and super-soft, minky (aka awesome to snuggle) fabric.
Every plush in the collection comes with four "storytellers", small, fun to hold 3" plush symbols that tuck inside a pocket on the back, connected by short, silky ribbons (so they will not get lost - yep, I'm a mom). Each emoji represents a different set of feelings.
These four "storyteller" mood emojis invite children to share about their feelings with a trusted adult in their life. When did they feel happy? Sad? Calm? and mad?
When young children act out, they are not giving us a hard time, they are having a hard time. Research shows that the first step in learning how to manage our feelings is to name them.
Each SnuggleBuddies plush animal in the collection brings a different peace-making power we each have inside ourselves to life. Buy just one or collect all seven.
Children need to practice social and emotional skills in order to master them. If you are looking for less whining, fewer tantrums, and an easier time putting the kids to bed, SnuggleBuddies is the answer.
We would never expect a two year old to tie their own shoes...so why would we expect a toddler or young child to regulate their emotions? Learning social and emotional skills takes years of practice, just like any new skill.
Naming emotions is a great place to begin when it comes to teaching children about feelings, helping them to better cope with stress.
We think every child (person) on this planet could benefit from having a lovable friend to share their feelings with, and so GEN:M donates 5% of sales back to children in need, gifting our products to schools and non-profits via our Tools For Schools Program. To date we have donated over $30,000 to organizations around the world.
Research tells us that the very act of putting words to our feelings helps us to regulate our emotions, yet this skill is often hard for children, particularly when they are feeling upset.
Enter SnuggleBuddies.
These huggable friends make thinking and talking about our feelings part of a daily playful ritual that can be easily worked into everyday life, whether at home (think bedtime) or school (think morning meeting time).
Children can learn self awareness, social awareness, self care and social skills in much the same way they learn to read and write, through modeling.
And when children practice talking about their feelings when they are calm, they have an easier time doing so when they are not.
SnuggleBuddies transform bedtime into special time that parents and children alike look forward to.
SnuggleBuddies are also ideal for time-In's, reading time, cuddle time, calming spaces, taking to grandma's house, daycare, school, morning meetings, play therapy, and more.
SnuggleBuddies make a great addition to our Time-In ToolKit, pictured above!
Whether at home or school, children can track their moods three times a day using their plush animal friend and this reusable Feelings Journal wipe board that comes with every SnuggleBuddies. Just use the included dry erase marker, wipe clean, and use it again each month!
Based on your requests, we have just added a reward level that INCLUDES the complete TIme-In ToolKit plus a SnuggleBuddies of your choice and FREE US shipping!
I wish I had a video camera on me at this SnuggleBuddies photo shoot, because I'd love to show you how this brave little girl used her SnuggleBuddies to connect with her mom.
She wanted to be in the pictures so badly, but she didn’t want to be with the other kids, and she definitely did not feel like smiling. Just look at that lower lip.
Instead of trying to talk her out of her sad feelings, we told here that we think ALL emotions are important, and that if she wanted to be in the pictures there was no need to smile. She could stay right where she was and feel whatever she was feeling.
Hugging Orange Fox close in her lap, she pulled the blue "sad" teardrop storyteller out of her SnuggleBuddies pocket and placed it into her mom's hand. At this her mom, who had been feeling worried about her daughter, completely relaxed into the moment.
The two hugged and no words were needed.
With that big hug, it was like a reset button had been hit. Minutes later this little one jumped up and wanted her picture taken, but not on her mom‘s lap. This time she wanted her picture taken with her new BFF, silly Orange Fox.
It was magic.
And then just minutes later, she was off and running.
“When did I feel happy? When did I feel sad?
When did I feel calm? When did I feel mad?
Will you tell a story about a feeling that you had?
What happens in your body, when your feeling..."
The SnuggleBuddies Song reminds us of the sort of songs Mr. Rogers used to sing on his children‘s television show from the seventies.
When it comes to teaching children about emotions, Fred Rogers was a trailblazer, and if he were alive today, we hope that he would LOVE the SnuggleBuddies.
Generation Mindful is proud to dedicate the SnuggleBuddies PeaceMakers Collection to the memory of Fred Rogers.
The ideas are endless! We will have a number of example videos our website once these are launched into the world, and, with your support, (think stretch goal material here!!!) we hope to create a 30 minute "how-to" video, free to buyers with every SnuggleBuddies sold.
According to the prominent neuroscientist, researcher, and best selling author Dr. Dan Siegel, "nerves that fire together wire together." This means that the more we practice naming our emotions, the easier this vital skill becomes.
SnuggleBuddies can be used alongside our other play-based tools for nurturing emotional intelligence including our Time-In ToolKit, and our PeaceMakers mindfulness cards.
Upgrade your Kickstarter pledge today by adding our transformational six week positive parenting course.This class will bring MORE joy and less stress to your family life starting day one. If you are raising children, from tots to teens, you do not need this class...you deserve it. You can start in early October or anytime that you are ready to begin as the six part course is self-paced.
Learn more, and see what others are saying about our positive parenting course here.
- $129 VALUE: FREE with a pledge of $196; included with $98 pledge level as well!
- Discipline without yelling, shame, blame or pain.
- Gain a deeper understanding of your parenting “triggers” and how to manage them.
- Connect with your children in simple, playful ways.
- Redirect challenging behavior.
- Set and maintain firm, respectful, and consistent boundaries.
- End power struggling and sibling rivalry before it begins.
- Parent as a team, in harmony with your spouse/partner.
Generation Mindful is a community of parents, educators, and therapists on a mission to end punitive childrearing practices, replacing them with affirming tools and strategies rooted in mindfulness, connection and PLAY.
Please join our free community by signing up here and "come out and play" with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too.
Generation Mindful was founded by physical therapist, mom of four, and parent educator Suzanne Tucker in April of 2016 on Kickstarter. The idea for the company came when graduates from her positive parenting classes were asking for help connecting with their kids, especially when they were feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
Suzanne saw a need to help adults connect with kids in practical, playful ways, and Generation Mindful was born.
As a busy mom of four who understands the pressures parents put on themselves, Suzanne is not interested in adding more "have-to's" or "should's" into the world; only "get-to's" and "can we please?!?!!", thus Generation Mindful's commitment to playful connection.
Suzanne leads regular Infant Massage and Positive Parenting classes in St. Louis, Missouri where she and her husband have had a holistic outpatient rehabilitation center for 15 years.
A lover of life's little moments, Suzanne wrote the Generation Mindful Manifesto for you:
Generation Mindful is a community of parents, educators, and therapists on a mission to end punitive childrearing practices, replacing them with affirming tools and strategies rooted in mindfulness, connection and PLAY.
This vision is bigger than any one person or product. We are blessed to have the support of talented members of our community in the areas of education, wellness, mental health, and growing small businesses! Most of all, we are fortunate to have YOU in our corner. None of this would be possible without you.
Know someone who would be just as excited as you are about SnuggleBuddies? Please share this campaign with friends by using one of the share buttons below. Thank you!
We need to order a minimum of 7000 SnuggleBuddies to place an order, so yeah, that's alot of stuffed animals. I want to make sure you love them before we go there.
We would also like to upgrade the tags from stamped to satin or embroidered, as so many kids draw comfort and security from holding onto and playing with tags. (All the PT's, OT's and parents of children with sensory integration challenges out there know what I am talking about!) This is only possible if we reach our stretch goal of $40,000.
The process of pitching our products on Kickstarter has been amazing. We learn so much from your input and we look forward to launching more mindful, playful products with you.
Please note, based on your requests, we have added a few new reward levels to the ones pictured below. See something that's missing? Message us, because we are listening!
A well placed hug can change the world. Thank you for being on this wild and precious adventure with us.
xo Suzanne + Team GEN:M!
Risks and challenges
We are working with the same factory and the same shipping warehouses we used for our past two successful Kickstarters which helps me sleep at night. No matter what unexpected thing might happen, I can tell you that I make it my priority #1 to always stay in contact with you, my backers.
Manufacturing and shipping delays are the biggest risks, made smaller by the facts that 1) we set our fulfillment dates for January instead of November or December to be conservative. We hope to under promise and over deliver there, 2) we have already gone through four versions of prototypes to get the sample plushes we LOVE that you see in all the photos, and 3) we have already passed the plush toy compliance and safety testing!
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Funding period
- (16 days)