Replacing Digital Screens: A Natural Toy Story

A Natural Search For Replacing Digital Screens

Once upon a time, children used to play with wooden toys and would remain close to nature. Over time, as distance from nature increased, wood gave way to plastic and toys have succumbed to the onslaught of digital screens. There is nothing wrong in staying with, or even ahead of the times, and adoption of digital is crucial to our competitiveness. However, as the pandemic has gone about resetting our mindsets across all aspects of life and society, this is a clarion call for re-imagining how we shape the children of our future. Should they shape their skills in close proximity with nature, or should they be engulfed by the electronic and digital tsunami, even before they start crawling? We present thoughts from Neelam Goyal, Founder and Director of Little Jamun.

The Origins: Conceptualizing Little Jamun

How was the idea of Little Jamun born?

When I had my daughter a few years back I was looking for cute things to decorate her nursery and didn’t find too many things in India. That’s how we started manufacturing wooden decorative items for children’s rooms and then slowly when my child was growing up I realized that similarly there are not too many Indian brands doing eco-friendly, purposeful toys as well. There were just 3-4 of them. Most of the market was flooded with products from China or plastic toys which really did not last long or did not have any purpose as such. A lot of traditional Indian wooden toys were present but most of them were not very attractive.

I thought of merging aesthetics and tradition and creating sustainable, non-toxic toys, with Waldorf and Montessori philosophy, and also some traditional toys using attractive design and colours. After getting a good response, we now have over 80 SKUs and you can find us on our website and also over most leading online marketplaces for children.

The Inspiration: Natural Toys!

Where does the “mompreneur” in you draw her inspiration from?

My brand of natural wooden toys was born out of my passion for providing unique, natural and safe toys for my kid. This thought later transformed into a business to fill the gap in the market. The vision began with the thought of making playtime innovative, creative and purposeful for every little one through 100% safe and sustainable toys.

As a mom, I realized first hand how open-ended, child-led play allows children to explore the expanse of their imagination. Toys are an engrossing and attractive way to develop the motor, cognitive and spatial skills in very young kids. Additionally it aids the kids in their journey to self-learn, explore and discover through play.

Related Read: Staying Motivated as an Entrepreneur

Overcoming Obstacles

Did you have second thoughts and how did you overcome them?

Every time something doesn’t go as expected there is a second thought. But I think I am grateful to have a very supportive and encouraging family who always motivated me, and most importantly my little daughter who wants to be a toy designer when she grows up!

Were there any challenges that you faced when you started? How did you tide over them?

Starting something totally new related to wooden products took a lot of research, time and learning. Getting the right vendors and artisans was key. I traveled to several places and met a lot of people to finally understand what wood was right for what product, what equipment were needed, what kind of paint and ink was needed for them to be non-toxic. We also spoke to some Toy Designers from abroad and India to understand the design part of it.

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The Elephant In The Room – Mental Health

What would be your advice to parents struggling to maintain their kids’ mental health during the pandemic?

I think social skills were affected in younger kids who were born just few years before the pandemic. The garden and parks were shut and schools were shut. Screen time has increased a lot.

At such times, quality time with children and creative play can always be helpful. Involving children in small home chores, painting with them, keeping in touch with their friends over video chats would be nice.

Related Read: Mental Health for All

Strategies for A Replacement For Digital Screens

What are some effective strategies to reduce the amount of screen time for kids?

I think that the kids today watch the screen to entertain themselves. To address this need of the kids, we have created some multi-functional toys which can keep kids entertained in more than just one way. I feel that investing your child’s time in purposeful and engaging play will definitely help address this problem!

For example we have designed multi-purpose toy sets for story telling and free-play. In the same toy we have holes drilled so that they can be used for stringing, and also they can be balanced on each other. Such kind of toys help the kids to think and create their own ways of playing, rather than a battery operated toy which gives only one kind of result.

Related Read: Responding to Challenges with Fun and Creativity

Curious Minds

What are your thoughts on play-based learning and how effective is it for the child’s development?

Learning happens naturally when a child is curious. Any kind of play that generates curiosity in your child related to that topic will help them learn and absorb the knowledge better than spoon-feeding them. Play-based learning creates a deliberate environment encouraging a child to happily participate. It is unstructured, self-directed by the child and fun!

Related Read: The Power of Curiosity

Social Impact

What are some activities that can instill in kids a sense of responsibility towards the society?

Always start them young by doing simple things like making your bed, not wasting food, throwing trash in the bin, switching off lights and fans whenever not required, etc. Also, children always follow better when they see us do it.

Related Read: Career in Social Sector

Mompreneur – The Final Word

What would you like to tell mothers who are inhibited to follow their passion but have immense potential to make a difference?

I would say, don’t overthink it! Take the leap and figure it out on the way. Sometimes we wait for our ideas or situations to be perfect before starting, but I’d say when you feel your home and children can be taken care of while you are working, and you are ready to do something, just go for it.

You will learn few things on the way and few things by trial and error.

Related Read: Grandmother Turned Entrepreneur

Some Toys From Little Jamun

About Neelam Goyal

Neelam Goyal is the Founder and Director of Little Jamun. She is a passionate mother turned mompreneur, who is on her way to show parents the path towards conscious shopping for their children.

Her vision is to make playtime innovative and creative for every little one. She makes available exclusively handcrafted wooden toys which are 100% safe and sustainable.

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