We were inspired to developthis character and the accompanyingSleepytime Rhyme to help parents build their children’s self-esteem. It was because of my (Callie)personal experiences growing up about a foot taller than my friends that brings so much meaning and intention behind Bigfoot.

In this video, I share more about the development of Bigfoot and why this character and Sleepytime Rhyme get me every time.

What are positive affirmations?

Affirmations are a fundamental technique used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Affirmations are used to challenge negative beliefs that we experience and stop the flow of negative thoughts that seek to validate them. By replacing negative thoughts with positive affirmations, even if they don’t feel natural at first, you are essentially training your brain to react to situations in a different way. Once you have your affirmations, there are ways to strengthen their impact on the brain. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy often recommends that once you have created your affirmations you should:

• Look in the Mirror while stating your Affirmation
• Post Written Affirmation
• Say Affirmations with Passion
• Sing or Chant Affirmations

This is where the intention behind our Slumberkins really shines through. We took an intervention from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and tailored it for children and families in our Sleepytime Rhyme in the following ways:

+ Instead of looking in the mirror, we encourage parents and caregivers to have children look in their eyes. As a primary attachment figure for your child, in the early years, you serve as a mirror for the child. They learn through your modeling and ability to be a stable anchor for them.

+ We include a card with the written affirmation to use as decoration or a keepsake to be a constant reminder of those important words. We work with an extremely talented local artist who hand paints all of our art with care and attention. We purposefully made the affirmation cards for kids thick, so that it could withstand wear and tear and be easily framed or put somewhere where a child can revisit those powerful words daily.

+ Our affirmation has an incredible rhyming story that prefaces the affirmation. It has concepts that many people can relate to. Many of our stories evoke emotion from the reader and many adults can identify with a time when they were left out or made fun of growing up. Because the adults emotions are activated during the reading of the story, the chance that the affirmation will be said with passion is high, which in turn, translates to the child hearing and saying the affirmation with passion.

+ As you read our Sleepytime Rhymes, you will get the feel for the rhythm and rhyme of the story. Each one was written in rhyming form for this exact reason. Song and rhyme stick in our heads better than plain written word.

Back to the Personal Connection

My saving grace with my self-esteem was my mother, who I constantly would go home to and just lean on and cry. I would do a great job of playing it off in the moment and act tough in front of my friends, but inevitably, it would always get to me. Her response was always to speak words of affirmation into me, from the time I was an infant. You are beautiful. You are tall. You are special. You have worth. She put me in any and every activity that would embrace my height (sports) so that I would have positive experiences growing up as a very tall child. To this day, I know that if my mother hadn’t framed my experiences as a child in the way she did, I would have a completely different self-concept.

Now, when I think about raising my children, I worry about their self-esteem (especially my daughter who will likely be very tall). This is why the intention behind Bigfoot is so personal and important to me. Starting in early literacy development, in the most precious moments before bedtime, parents can use Bigfoot and our Sleepytime Rhyme to start speaking words of positive affirmation.

Words spoken out loud have the power to change lives. Any moment can be a brain building moment. I am a true believer of that as I practice it daily with myself and with my own children. Both of my oldest sons (ages 5 + 7) sleep with their snuglyBigfeet and love going through the Sleepytime Rhyme at bedtime. We often say the affirmations on the way out the door or in the car on the way to school.

As an educator with experience in special education, I’ve also seen first hand how any kind of positive words and feedback spoken into children’s lives can make a difference. Bigfoot's affirmation that is performed within the Sleepytime Rhyme and printed on our affirmation card is:

I am kind. I am strong. I am brave and unique. The world is better because I am here. I like me.

It is my personal mission that our Bigfoot and Sleepytime Rhyme impact the lives of children in a positive way and help build positive self-esteem.At first glance, our Slumberkins and Sleepytime Rhymes may just look like a cute lovey and story, but there is SO much more thought and intention behind our children's books about self-esteem. We are happy to be able to show you the intention behind our lovable Bigfoot and give you a deeper look into the heart and soul of our mission and company.

To view our Bigfoot Collection, click here.