My daughter, little miss Vivienne Rose, loves pink. She loves glitter, dancing, singing, sparkles. She’ll have the odd dally with a few dinasaurs or a digger truck I’ve snuck into the playroom, but then she’s straight back to the dolls. Coming from a psychology background I have always been fascinated by the whole nature/nurture side of development but no matter what I will always make sure Vivienne has choices and support her decisions. Even if they currently involve wearing pink every single day and insisting on sleeping in a tutu.
Well her absolute favourite characters at the moment are from the new Netflix series – Lalaloopsy. If you haven’t heard of them yet I am sure you will in the run up to Christmas. They’re actually really creative and definitely encourage imaginative play so I don’t mind her watching the show at all. She loves dressing up like them – customising and styling the dolls hair and clothes. I find myself rolling my eyes at the cliche but I know its what I did as a young girl and I am sure what girls (and boys) will do for generations ahead. So I love encouraging her creativity and imagination with the character dolls.
So to give you a synopsis – each character was once a rag doll who magically came to life when their last stitch was sewn. Very wholesome, it plays on the fact that each character has a unique personality and you see them exploring it on the show and working together. The core values are there and its actually really cute.
Ok and now the details which according to Vivienne are very important! Each core character has a name which I was told by my ‘threenager’ that I had to learn! Jewel Sparkles (a princess), Crumbs Sugar Cookie (a baker), Spot Splatter Splash (an artist), Rosy Bumps ‘N’ Bruises (a nurse), Dot Starlight (a scientist), and Storm E. Sky (a musician). Can you guess which one Vivienne always plays as? The Princess – always the princess. So they live in this land – Lalaloopsy Land, and have pets, and get creative every day.
So ways in which I use it when the TV is off – taking the creativity the characters have and doing the activities in our day to day life. Baking, singing, drawing, playing vet, making music, star gazing even! I can find it quite hard to loose my inhibitions and play silly sometimes, I get so caught up in work and chores I forget how important it is to be creative with her. This definitely helps me direct it and really engage with Vivienne. Her current favourite is the Lalaloopsy Jewel’s Glitter Makeover doll, she loves customising her hair with the provided purple chalk!
So if you haven’t heard of them yet – check the series out on Netflix and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. Your kids will be forever grateful! And watch out to now see them everywhere in the run up to Christmas…