.
Sure I have a full time job being a principal and a twin mom. And now, we add a new title: the founder of a start-up sensory kit company.
After 2 years of OT via early intervention and an entire pandemic spent seeking out ways to engage my little guys' senses, I realized I was learning quite a bit. I read eveything I could get my hands on about sensory input, processing, and integration. The bulk of our days was spent cooking, making dough, baking, experimenting with kinetic sand...then homemade kinetic sand, creating volcanoes, freezing-our-toy-dinos-to-figure-out-what-melts-them....you know the rest.
I didn't realize that during those 2.5 years, I was actually doing what it was that my boys physically needed, craved, and sought out in order to feel regulated.
Wouldn't it only be natural for me to start to package the game-changing sensory experiences I created for my boys? After making my first few kits, I realized just how passionate I was about educating other momma bears about sensory input, processing, and regulation.
Fast forward 2-3 months and I came across countless other small businesses packaging a similar concept. When I first stumbled upon these accounts, I was like, "YES! Other women are doing this too!" I thought I had found my community.
Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Some of these boss moms weren't so thrilled. Rather than lifting each other up, some of these women accused newer folks of "stealing their idea," or trying to imitate the "original dough expert" concept. Side note: play dough isn't new. Home made playdough also isn't new. My grandmother was making it with me when I was 4 and I'm now 46. I also hate to be the bearer of bad news, but kits aren't new either. My grandmother would find every knickknack in the kitchen for me to mix my playdough with. It kept me engaged for hours. While she didn't market it as a "kit," let's call it what it was: a kit.
42 years ago.
So let's all just take a few steps back and applaud all of the women in this industry because I'm pretty sure we have the same thing in common: our kids.
If leadership is about helping others to become more successful and removing any potential barriers that might hinder that success, why break others down? Since when did success become about pointing figures, calling people "copy cats" and engaging in any of the other nonsense?
Here's a novel idea: Let's lift each other up, high five each other for our individual and collective successes, and cheer each other on.
I just don't see how wasting precious time and energy being threatened by others pushes the work forward.
Paying it forward is the work. Now it's time to actually do it. If women actually stuck together, we might even be able to change the world. Who knew?
With gratitude and love,
Jessica
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