This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Cynthia Jackson, founder of Tiny Tots & Tikes. Cynthia has three, published children’s books, and a line of inspirational t-shirts and jewelry. In 2016, she expanded her brand. When her daughter was just three years old, she began to question the texture of her hair and skin tone. Cynthia's daughter would ask why she looked different, or why her hair did not shake like the other children in her pre-school class.
Cynthia is an Associate Pastor at a predominately white church, and her daughter was attending a predominately white school. They had underestimated how much the environment, along with the white representation on television, had impacted their young daughter's growth, identity, and self-esteem. It was then, that Cynthia and her husband went full force into affirming their daughter. They also wanted to be of example to other parents as well.
Their goal is to help parents be intentional and aware of how our children are affected at such a young age. They were not expecting to have such a conversation with their child at three-years old, and positive they weren't alone. This inspired them to create wall decals that represented successful images that favored our black beauties. The decals include images of doctors, athletes, princesses, fairies, race-car drivers, and other personalized images. Their newest items are black-inspired Christmas labels (that look absolutely stunning by the way)!
Although Cynthia is an Associate Pastor, this is her personal ministry. This is her way of spreading the gospel of Christ in a different-and-creative way. Her goal is to teach children how to love themselves the way that Christ loves us through affirmation, recognition and speaking love. She essentially shows them how to get back to the true meaning of love. Inspiring and motivating children to be their B.E.S.T: Bright, Empowered, Strong and Transformed.
I encourage you to check out the website to see the greatness that is happening at Tiny Tots & Tikes. Pick up a few t-shirts, wall decals and the black-inspired Christmas labels that are hot off the press! Visit the website at https://www.tinytotsandtikes.com/, and don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter so you can stay in the know.
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