Tag: parent

Omaha World Herald Highlights Wear the Cape’s Top 10 List on Volunteering

Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

momaha logoThe Omaha World-Herald’s Momaha, “where Omaha moms connect,” published a wonderful write-up on the Top 10 list that Wear the Cape issued today about the importance of encouraging your kids to volunteer. Reporter Josie Loza opens the article, “10 reasons to encourage your child to volunteer,” with some brief background on Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation. From the piece:

Wear the Cape is a brand with a mission to empower kids to be heroes.

In fact, its KidKind Foundation was built on the hope that it could teach children to have empathy, to be kind and to restore good character.

All great traits you’d find in a superhero, right?

Josie then goes on to share:

It’s a cool initiative that released a Top 10 list why parents should encourage their kids to volunteer. All research-based reasons that Dr. Phillip Brown, a senior consultant at the National School Climate Center, studied in character education.

To read Josie’s story in full, head on over to the Omaha World-Herald’s website. And to read Wear the Cape Founder Leigh Ann Errico’s reflections on the value in volunteering as a family, as well as Dr. Brown’s insight about the positives of engaging in meaningful service activities, find the press release here.

The Cape Effect…what’s that?

Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

Cape Effect
/kāp/ /iˈfekt/
noun

1.       The immediate reaction of a child when given a cape to wear. Usually involves wide eyes and open mouth, in addition to one or more of the following: squealing with delight, jumping for joy, frolicking around the house, superhero voguing, and surprisingly good behavior.

You know what’s really cool? When your kids EXCEED your expectations. You hope your messages to your teenage daughter about being inclusive of her peers have sunk in…and then you find out she’s gone out of her way to make sure others don’t feel left out or lonely. You’ve tried to encourage your little guy to stand up for someone being bullied…and then he does, with confidence and tact.

We at Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation believe we’ve found the secret sauce to this recipe. It’s what we call the “Cape Effect.”

Time and again, we’ve seen and heard that kids are motivated to earn the right to Wear the Cape – whether tied around their neck or imprinted on their shirt – by doing the right thing. Explain to them what it looks like to be a “hero” and give a kid that name, and he or she will work to live up to it. They get it, even at a young age.

To facilitate communication with tykes to teens, every Wear the Cape product includes a Hero Tag that tees up a teachable moment. Various real-life scenarios are presented that challenge kids to think through the right choices to be made in each situation. Try it. Talk with your kids about what it REALLY means in practice to be heroic, and watch great stories come back to you about your Cape Kid in action!

I still remember when the first box of prototype shirts arrived at our house last summer. The kids I gave them to went wild with excitement about the idea of a cape being on their backs – symbolic, for all to see. And what followed the initial excitement was the best part: They began acting like heroes.

The video below paints this picture with two little boys who will undoubtedly put a smile on your face. After receiving Wear the Cape tees, they spend a few moments processing the idea of being able to wear a cape on their backs (like they’ve seen heroes do in movies, books and on TV), and then they start “flying” around the house. Think of being given a cape like being knighted.

Also interesting to note: these handsome little men have a super cool mama, too. Her name is Chara, and she and her colleague Jodi just finished a book you’ll love called You Are. The fundamental premise of the book is that when people really know WHO THEY ARE, WHAT THEY HAVE, and WHAT THEY CAN DO, they are naturally inspired to uplift, encourage and help, rather than put down, criticize or harm. We could not agree with you ladies more!

So, hey folks – give a cape, and watch the magic; keep it in mind to give Wear the Cape products as gifts for birthdays, holidays, and just to celebrate achievements (check out our Shop page here for lots of great ideas). We so appreciate the support – it’s how we’ll be able to keep on chuggin’ – and you’re turning kids’ dreams of being heroes into reality.

Building heroes, a kid at a time – that’s Wear the Cape and YOU.

Choose kind,
Leigh Ann

New Product Perfectly Suited to Teach Kids Gratitude

Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

“La reconnaissance est la memoire du coeur.” – Jean Baptiste Massieu (1742–1818)

This French proverb, meaning “Gratitude is the memory of the heart,” is displayed in my family’s home. I love the feeling I get when I when I mull over what these words of wisdom really mean: Our hearts cherish moments for which we are thankful long after they have passed. And why not make it a habit to express gratitude to those who gave us something to appreciate?

Today’s kids—many of them—are pretty darn lucky. They live with an abundance of stuff. My kids know gratitude is expected, but I always worry on Christmas morning and on birthdays that my tribe is ripping off paper faster than they can pause, breathe and say thank you. We work on ensuring proper appreciation for how hard mom and dad or grandparents or friends had to work to provide the gift, whether a material thing or an opportunity…and perhaps more importantly, the tremendous thought that went into the giving.

I am big on written thank you notes in my house. A handful of my friends make fun of me; other people tell me to stop it as the note back makes them feel pressure to reciprocate this practice; and some of my friends write me cards, too, when the occasion presents itself to say thank you—no judgment here, just different reactions from different people. But no matter how thank you notes from the Errico household are received, I am satisfied knowing the people in our lives understand that their kindness is a memory in our hearts.

Following the birthdays of my three oldest kiddos, I have typically prepared on my computer thank you cards that they’re asked to color, illustrate and/or sign. We then stamp and mail the cards together at the post office. I want them to see that there is effort involved here and that it is part of the process of receiving—to be grateful with “a proper thank you,” as they say.

And after much research on this action-backed virtue, I uncovered what I had already learned in practice: Recent studies show that there is something about sharing gratitude—saying that my happiness is due to something you have done for me—that recognizes our interdependence. New research by Algoe & Way (Social, Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, January 31, 2014) indicates that the oxytocin system of the brain is enhanced by acts of gratitude and may be the glue that binds us into meaningful and important relationships. While this study isn’t the first to suggest that we’re social creatures, it suggests that our emotional response to someone sharing a kind word or deed is deeply rooted in our bodies and is part of our evolutionary history.

But, in all my searching, I also failed to find many simple ways to teach kids the quality of being thankful, the readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

I got the idea to “marry up” the gratitude ritual in our household with Wear the Cape values and, low and behold, Gratitude-Strong Thank You Cards were born. I think you’ll love them; check out the pictures below. The inside of the card defines gratitude and thanks the addressee for “…making me grateful. Your kindness helps me be strong.” There are even wide-ruled lines to make writing a brief note easy. They are an awesome tool for all of our Wear the Cape families, perfectly-suited to teach kids what gratitude is AND what it looks like in action.

We hope you will have a look at the cool cards here and purchase packs for the little heroes you love (and, of course, they come fabulously gift-wrapped with love and care from our house to yours). Merchandise with meaning, I promise they’ll be put to good use.

Speaking of being grateful, have I told you lately how incredibly grateful I am for all of you? We ARE making a difference together.

Choose kind,
Leigh Ann
thank you cards 1

 

thank you cards 2