You're Going To Fall In Love With The Little Feminist Subscription Box For Your Kids

Raising the next generation of feminists in your home? Little Feminist monthly children’s book subscription box wants to help. The new subscription service provides children ages 0 to 9 with books, activities, and DIY projects that celebrate diversity and gender equality. With the help of a massively successful Kickstarter campaign last year, creator Brittany Murlas is on a mission to share Little Feminist with your children (both girls and boys), by helping them learn about empathy, perseverance, and social consciousness, mixed in with a lot of fun and discovery along the way.

In an interview with Romper, Murlas writes, "I am dyslexic, so children's books have always been a safe haven for me. In 2014, while I was the CMO of Babylist, I learned that of children’s books published each year, just 31 percent have female central characters, and in the last five years only 13 percent feature a person of color (my white privilege that I learned this later in my life). Since that point, I dreamed of starting a company to help diversify children’s books. The day after the 2016 election was my 'now or never' moment, and I quit the next week."

Murlas is right. While more diverse children's books are being published each year, according to Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), we still have a long way to go in that department. Little Feminist hopes to help change that with their service, and here's how it works: subscription boxes are broken up into three groups depending on your child's age: 0-3 years, 3-7 years and 7-9 years old. Choose a single box (starting at $19) or a monthly subscription, with free shipping. The more boxes you purchase, the cheaper each one becomes. Every delivery includes two to three books that are selected by a team of educators, librarians, and parents, as well as related questions to discuss together as a family, and a DIY activity that fits with the month's theme. Side note: I'm digging the cool t-shirts in their gift shop, too.

Now, I don't want to get all political on you, but with current events as they are, I feel the weight and importance more than ever of raising my daughters to be strong and empowered young women in this world. In my home, we teach our girls that everyone is created equally, no matter the color of our skin, where we come from, or who we love. It seems so obvious to me, and yet feminism, which strives for that same equality, can be such a polarizing word. Its connotation, unfortunately, means different things to different people, and as a result, invisible barriers can rise with the mere mention of the word. But if you look at its definition, it's really quite simple, isn't it? "The belief that all genders should have equal rights and opportunities." I want this for my daughters, for your sons and daughters, and I hope you do, too.

Raising the next generation of feminists begins at home. United Nations Women is an insightful resource on this topic, and their suggestions range from having an open dialogue with children on the topic of women's rights and equally dividing household chores, to challenging traditional standards of beauty and embracing diverse role models. By introducing children to diverse books, Little Feminist believes in the power of reading and discovery, which also begins at home. To challenge traditional thinking and strive for equality takes effort and perseverance, and I am here for it. To all the parents out there raising the next generation of feminists, thank you.

Little Feminist will begin publishing their own line of diverse books this year. I look forward to seeing them.