In the very busy times of the present age, I think the biggest challenge parents face is to socialize with their kids. What should you teach them and what you shouldn’t? Should you allow your kids to grow up to be who they think they are and want to be with the positive characteristics of respective genders? As parents we always face this dilemma of being justified while bring up a girl and a boy. As on today there have been enough toys for girls to encourage and empower their imagination but there has been little for boys. It’s imperative that the child gets a role model that he/she can relate to with real life experiences that break the stereotype ideologies.
Realising the urgent need for such inspiration for boys, Laura Hale has initiated the Kick-starter Campaign: The Generation Grit – action figures for boys. Laura is a Harvard Business School graduate and an experienced entrepreneur from California. She is a mother of four and her aim through Generation Grit is to bring up the space for boys to have toys that are value based and also entertaining. Generation Grit brings life to different characters and each character has its own set of books, story, action figure and accessories.  The generation will shape the ideologies of boys in 8-12 years of age.
Generation Grit aims to teach boys that there is more than one way of being strong and that being a boy is more than just biceps and fights.
She is planning to release a set of historical figures as toys that will cultivate positive values and contribute to progressive learning in boys. Also each toy will come with a line of books and accessories. Their first character is Mac Manson who is a 14 year old boy who is adventurous and loves baseball and camping. His story is from the year 1943 in the time of World War two. His book talks about how he gets overshadowed by his British cousin as he tries to escape London bombings. The duo then realise that they need to work together to bring peace and save a friend from false accusations. His accessories have a trunk – a heavy cardboard box that carries Mac. The box can unfold and open itself to a bedroom, desk area with cabinets to store things. It also has a satchel, bedroll and a leather-like jacket.
The character
The team responsible for creation of Generation Grit includes experience writers, toy designers, historians, editors, artists and sculptors.
You can help this campaign reach a larger audience for acceptance and support by sharing it with your friends and networks.
In my opinion, this is an amazing and a novel idea.  We often teach our boys to be strong and not to shed tears. We repeatedly use the phrase “be a manâ€_x009d_ (reminds of the Like a girl video) forgetting that being a man also requires one to be compassionate, kind, gentle and humble. We as parents often forget to inculcate these values in our children during their growing years.
 The current times have more creative and innovative gender defying toys for kids to have engaging play times and to have the best of both worlds.Here is more for the boys through the Generation Grit along with the G.I Joes and Kens! Â
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Image Source: Generation Grit.
Tarun Sakhrani
Rushita Sheth
Janani S Koushik
KSP Team
