All children’s brands should be guided by an internalized dictum to “first, do no harm” that aligns organizational purpose, business strategy, brand management, and the optimal development of children. This sworn commitment requires a guiding philosophy that holds collective ability and judgment accountable, demands respect for scientific discovery, and vows to regard the holistic well being of children and childhood above all other competing concerns. It also requires an adopted practice of responsibility and professionalism dedicated to promoting the highest standards and respect for each developmental stage and phase, guarding the season of childhood.

Children need inspired playthings to help them tackle real world issues. Brands are either meeting the demand with constructive tools, placating children with shallow entertainment, or are selling out by buying into the notion that what they produce, promote, and contribute is inconsequential to the cultural realities of our day. If companies don’t begin adopting actionable, responsible standards rooted in high ideals, transparency, health, and holistic wellbeing, the industry will become subject to restrictive legislation.

There is no shortage of threats to childhood: cultural challenges to combat, stigmas and stereotypes to overcome, and chaos to decode. What is sparse, are companies that guard the season of childhood, regard their contribution as a vocation, and that champion the role and opportunity to proactively influence the healthy real life needs of impressionable young people.

Brands don’t exist in vacuums– they impact, influence, and shape our global ecology.