When I was little, I would pretend I had an imaginary friend under my bed to keep me company at night because I was afraid of the dark. When I grew older, the fear of the dark became the fear of the boogie man who would come through the windows and kidnap little children from their beds. Yes, Monsters Inc got it all wrong – they don’t come from your cupboard; it’s the windows you have to beware of.
Now I have two boys and they’re afraid to sleep without me unless the night light is on. Even though they have each other in the same room, there’s nothing like an adult to keep the monsters at bay. The boys were frequently looking for me in the middle of the night and I eventually got so tired of swapping rooms that I just slept in their room. I even had my own pillow and blanket in there!
Some time back, Aristotle’s night time fears manifested as spooky trees so Daddy made him a “magic axe” that he could use to chop down the spooky trees if they ever came after him. He kept the axe by the window and got very upset whenever Hercules tried to take his axe. Aristotle is a little better now about sleeping alone in the dark but he still likes to have the night light on. Hercules, on the other hand, hates the dark.
When I saw the Forge of Honor: Targimals and Border Blades & Shields on Kickstarter, I thought they were the perfect toys for the boys. They are both at the age where they want to be heroes fighting evil and saving all manner of things – they’ve been ninjas, Star Wars characters, and Octonauts. They’ve been making “weapons” out of Lego, balloons, cardboard cylinders, and a variety of other unfriendly objects that cause a lot of damage (to persons and property) when certain little boys get too excited in their imaginative play. The Lego breaks too easily, the balloons deflate after a couple of days, and Hercules tends to turn the cardboard cylinders into confetti after a while. The Forge of Honor Blades & Shields would be a perfect addition for them to take their creative play to a whole new level.
Except there’s only one problem… Forge of Honor toys don’t exist yet. They are a project on Kickstarter that will only come into reality if they get sufficient backers to fund the creation of the project. They need $18000 to reach their goal. At the time of writing this, they have $12839 so they are more than 2/3 of the way there. So now I’m writing to tell you about the Targimals with the hope that you will like them enough to pledge your support to help make this toy a reality.
About The Forge of Honor: Targimals and Bordor Blades & Shields
The Targimals are legendary warriors who live to protect children against bedtime monsters and other scary creatures. Combined with the Bordor Blades™ and Bordor Shields™, these soft and cuddly toys are not just great for keeping you children safe at night from the boogieman, they will foster imagination, encourage creative play, and bring courage to children. The Targimals and Bordor Blades & Shields are designed so that they easily switch between “battle mode” and “pillow mode” via a slot at the top of the shield.
Why Imaginative Play?
Even if your child is not afraid of the night, the Targimals and Bordor Blades and Shields are a great way to encourage imaginative play for children which we all know is not only good for children but also important because:
- it helps to develop their imagination and creativity
- it helps to develop language skills
- it helps to develop social skills
- it facilitates emotional development
- it provides children with an opportunity to relax and unwind
- it helps children come to terms with their fears
- it gives children a sense of power and control which they don’t often feel in regular daily life
Last but not least, pretend play is a significant component of the Tools of the Mind program that has been found to be particularly effective in helping children develop self-control – a key determinant of future success.
Forge of Honor Books and Activities
What else is coming? There is a story behind the Targimals. If the Targimal Kickstarter Project is successful, we will see a series of books to support the Targimals’ story that can potentially grow up with our children. This will be an excellent way to inculcate good reading habits from young. I’ve always liked concepts that are all-encompassing because if you can capture your child’s interest in a small way, they’ll carry themselves the rest of the way. For example, if you have trouble encouraging your child to read, stories about their favourite toys will be a great way to get them interested in books.
In addition to the future plans for the books, there will be Targimal activity pages released on a regular basis to help keep your child busy while you wait for your Targimals, Swords and Shields.
We think Forge of Honor Targimals and Border Blades and Swords are a terrific toy concept and hope you will pledge your support to this worthy project.
We have only until 6 August to save the world from night time monsters! In the name of honor and creative play, we need heroes to step forward and choose a Targimal, Border Blade and Sword from a choice of six options. Pledge your support before 6 August 2013 or the night time monsters will take dominion over the world!
Related:
Nurture for the Future 