OUR BLOG
Quality Counts: The Reviews Have It
As a shoutout to those focused on our shared goal of empowering each and every child toward greatness, we found some of our favorite reviews of our products. These customers have realized the quality and care placed into our products, all while sending an important message for their children to believe in: I Can Do Anything.
#BDSquad Bound
Growing into Strong, Confidence Kiddos
It’s no secret to say that growing up is tough. From the second we are born, we are met with a deluge of new information, as we pick up new skills and knowledge each and every day. Learning all of these new skills while traversing social and cultural situations entirely unknown to us as children makes for a daunting undertaking. It is our job as parents, classmates and mentors to install confidence in the children of today to create a kind, capable, skilled future for tomorrow.
Show Confidence Yourself
The first step in installing confidence in your children is by displaying that confidence yourself. Children learn by example, and by being willing to try new things without fear of failure, you can teach your children to do the same. You don’t have to pretend to be the best at each new undertaking, or unafraid of failure to showcase this confidence. On the contrary, being open with your children about your feelings while focusing on the positive can encourage your children to do the same.
Let Children Learn from Failure
Not only is it important for children to become more confident from their successes in life, it is equally as important for kids to learn that failure is a part of the process. After all, confident people don’t let the fear of failure get in their way, and this is an important concept to impress upon your children as you encourage them to try new things. Failure will actually teach children to dust themselves off, pick themselves up, and try harder for better results in the future.
Allow Kids to Have an Opinion
This may be a tricky one for some parents. While we agree that children should be raised to respect adults and their time to speak and discuss issues as “grownups”, we also believe that it is important for children to develop their own original thought. Being outspoken does not mean that a child is being disrespectful, if it is done in an appropriate and well-thought out manner. Children should be taught to validate their voice through patience and reasoning, while giving others the opportunity to do the same.
Practice Persistence
While we all may want our children to excel at every new endeavour that they undertake, it is important to not let children give up at their first failure or setback. Kids must learn that they have to be resilient enough to withstand failure to keep trying, and to not be too distressed when they are not the very best at something. Learning to trust the process and their personal progression is what will keep children focused on their goals, no matter what may deter them.
Set #SquadGoals™ and Explore New Interests
Another key method for installing confidence in kids is by helping your children find their passions by exploring their own interests to help develop their own identity. As children find their interests in sports, hobbies and other activities, they will be amazed at their growing skill set, as they put in the time and effort to learn more about the things that they love. One way to encourage this progress is by articulating both big and small goals that your children may have. Setting goals can help your children feel strong and secure, and that they can truly achieve anything with time and dedication. Helping your children map out their goals will also work to validate their interests and to develop the skills necessary to get them where they want to be.
Show Your Love
Perhaps more important than all else in installing confidence and strength in your children, is to let them feel loved and supported. It is important to let your children know that you love them no matter what, and that you think that they are great, even when they may not be doing great things. This sense of security and belonging is invaluable when empowering your children to pursue their passions, achieve their #SquadGoals™ and grow into strong, confident adults.
WE’RE WORKING TO EMPOWER STUDENTS OF COLOR.
It’s our goal to provide gear to students that encourages them to be their best. We do this by producing bags, totes and organization tools with fun characters representing a broad range of melanin skin tones. Our products are made to be sturdy so kids can count on them to work. And we commit to giving students in less-advantaged schools free gear with the help of local community organizations.
Shop our 1954 Backpacks
HBCU Homecoming 2018
While HBCU schools can provide black students a sense of belonging, HBCU homecoming takes this sense of unity and elevates it to an entirely new level. This time filled with celebration and sports works to foster a family-like environment for black students.
Meet Langston™
Meet Langston™, one of our newest members of the #BDSquad™! Although Langston™ is a new member of our squad, he is the caretaker of the group. Langston™ is thoughtful and considerate of others’ needs, always looking out for a friend or stranger in need. He knows that by taking care of those he loves and strangers in the same way, he is helping make the world a better and happier place.
Celebrating Labor Day
This Labor Day weekend, we ask you to remember and celebrate the achievements of the great black Civil Rights leaders that fought to establish the holiday and more fair working conditions for all. This is a time to recall our nation’s history, as well as the progress that can be made through hardwork and determination. This is a time to celebrate, a time to remember, and a time to become inspired to encite our own change and progress to empower those of all skin tones and colors.
4 Tips To Buying A Quality Backpack
Whether you’re heading back to school, making the most of a weekend trip to Grammy's or planning your next trip – a backpack is a practical tool for carrying all of your stuff.
College Funding Tips
The idea of paying for college can be an intimidating one, but college funding vehicles such as grants, scholarships, work-study programs and student loans are all available to make your dreams come true. These different forms of financial aid are based on need or merit, meaning that your academic achievements, athletic prowess and all other talents are what matter most. With hard work and determination, combined with these basic college funding tips, anything is possible!
Which #BDSquad Character Are You?
All of our #BD Squad members are bound for greatness, but which are you? Are you Nicee™, our shy but incredibly talented artist? Or are you CJ™, our scholar-athlete that is well on his way to becoming a professional athlete, motivational speaker, or both?
Meet Arin™
Meet Arin™, the charming and creative member of the #BDSquad™! Arin is a unique and free spirited thinker, which takes her creative efforts to all new heights. Although she thrives in all of her school subjects, the courses that demand critical thinking are her favorite. Arin™ loves English and writing, drawing inspiration from all of her favorite books, movies and plays. She enjoys storytelling in any form, striving to find new perspectives to create fresh, innovative, creative messages!
Civil Rights Movements that Made Your #SquadGoals Possible
This back to school season, we are taking advantage of this time to reflect on the accomplishments of civil rights leaders in the past that have made our #SquadGoals possible. Among these leaders are empowered young black students, including 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, the first black student to attend an all-white school in the American south in 1960. This groundbreaking moment in history follows the beginning of the desegregation of schools in America, starting in 1954. This is the year of Brown vs. the Board of Education, the court case that set the precedent to end the “separate but equal movement”.
Back to School with Ruby Bridges
Bridges would be the first black student to attend an all white school in the American south, William Frantz School. This breakthrough paved the way for continued civil rights actions in the future, but not without its challenges to Bridges and her family.