Slumberkins is expanding our selection of creatures in 2017. We are so excited about this and can't wait to share them with you. When we develop Slumberkins, it's actually the skill or theme behind them that drives the design and production process.

The first addition to the Slumberkins family will be a fox. We actually have had the fox Sleepytime Rhyme written since our very beginnings, but became hung up in the design process. After many trials and errors, we finally have a fox to share with you all!

The fox was originally inspired by one of our own children within the Slumberkins family who was having challenges with change and transition. Now Slumberkins’ Fox can support times of transition through books about change, affirmations, and you can even watch his adventures unfold on our TV series streaming now on Apple TV+. We see kids in our schools and in our communities struggling with change and transition all the time as well. This Sleepytime Rhyme and skill card were created to help frame big changes for kids in a way that makes sense to them and helps children manage transition and change in the future.

Examples of change that we commonly see children struggle with are moving, changing schools, divorce, switching houses between separated parents, death in the family (even pets), and beginning and ending daily routines.

The importance of talking about big transitions and changes cannot be over stressed. Many times, because adults feel responsible for changes in kids' lives or feel that they cannot help or control the change, they inadvertently avoid talking about it in hopes that children will adjust quickly or not dwell on the change.  The downside of not talking about big changes, is that you miss the opportunity to help frame change and transition as a normal part of life; that it can feel uncomfortable, but will get better and is not the fault of the child.

Did you know that children do not develop internal voice until about the age of SEVEN?!?  That means the voice in your head, that helps you process information, helps you notice when you are having big feelings, or keeps you busy focusing on other things when you are bored, is not even available to kids under the age of seven. Their internal voice is still very malleable and developing in childhood, which as we know as adults, is very important for how we view ourselves and the world. That is why adding healthy messaging and positive affirmations to our stories is an integral part of WHY Slumberkins are more than just a cuddly creature.  By giving children a framework for understanding certain important life skills, we hope to help set kids up to better deal with our complex and changing world. Through the security of a cuddly creature and the steadfastness of positive interactions with a loving adult, children can internalize these positive messages in a way that promotes a healthy relationship to self and others.

We are so excited to add our sly little fox to the Slumberkin family to represent the many children who struggle to cope with a big change in their lives. We hope it can help the adults in their lives have those important conversations with kids that can often be so very difficult.

The fox Sleepytime Rhyme will be available when our fox is released in the coming weeks. We can't wait to share it with you all.