GoldieBlox Commercial: Love it!

[Mermanaid]

I think I remember hearing about GoldieBlox on this board. Well someone on my FB feed posted a link to this article and commercial. I think it's cool and thought you all would appreciate it as well.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/11/19/goldieblox_commercial_rewrites_the_beastie_boys_ur ges_young_girls_to_pursue.html

[ilfaith]

I saw this the other day and was just about to post the link, but you beat me to it.

[lovin2shop]

Awesome, I love it!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

yes, loved this! i'm seeing other people share this video FB (men and women alike) which is so encouraging. as a female EE (which there are very very few women) i really think it is important to start this sort of thing from a young age. i hate how all toys for girls have to be frilly, pink, dolls, teasets etc whereas anything for building, machines, science kits are in the "boys" section. Um, girls can build things too, dagnamit. :)

i liked the other video too that was to the "We are the Champions" song..i think it was titled "More than Just a Princess" or something like that.

[vonfirmath]

How many people have GoldieBlox already?

Their advertising is fantastic. I'd like to hear reviews of the products.

[goldenpig]

I also saw that commercial and love the idea of it, but am wondering if it's really a good toy or just a watered down pink version of other toys. Should I get this for 6 yo DD, or something else? I was thinking maybe a set of K'Nex or Snap Circuits? We already have Lego but she hasn't been that into it. I bought a book that shows how to build things out of 35 Lego bricks or less, maybe that will help her get into it more. We have Magnatiles and she likes that, and M&D architectural blocks but she doesn't play with it that much. She'd rather read.

[Mermanaid]

DD8 loves her K'Nex and the marble run. They don't get a ton of play but when they come out she's at it for hours and her imagination soars. I think you should start with a box of K'Nex or Snaps and see what happens.

[lizzywednesday]

How many people have GoldieBlox already?

Their advertising is fantastic. I'd like to hear reviews of the products.

They are pretty new, so I don't think a lot of people have them yet.

HOWEVER, I have to admit that I've got my eye on them as my DD just started to get into building toys and puzzles this year.

[citymama]

I've been seeing this on FB. I love the expression on the girls' faces when they see the princessy videos! That was completely me as a kid. I kinda wish that was the actual ad, rather than the one with the CEO. Don't forget to vote for them to air the ad for free during Superbowl!


How many people have GoldieBlox already?

Their advertising is fantastic. I'd like to hear reviews of the products.

MIL has bought the girls GoldieBlox for Hanukkah, so I can report back in a couple of weeks! Our local toy store carries their products as well and they're quite reasonably priced.

[kit]

How many people have GoldieBlox already?

Their advertising is fantastic. I'd like to hear reviews of the products.

Amazon has a good number of reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Goldie-Blox-The-Spinning-Machine/dp/B00BCXU3PQ

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I've been seeing this on FB. I love the expression on the girls' faces when they see the princessy videos! That was completely me as a kid.

:yeahthat: me too!!! and things weren't even all that pink/princessy back then, compared to nowadays...i can't imagine growing up these days, i'd be gagging.

[maestramommy]

I sent the link from the Goldieblox website to Dh. He did like the belt toy, but said the other one with the axle was a little lame, because there are already products out there just like it. Meaning it's not unique, while the belt toy is. I reminded him that the whole point of this is marketing such toys to girls specifically. Of course, now that I think on it, I wonder just how I really feel about selling toys with super girly marketing (I was not too crazy about the storylines) in order to spark interest.

[MaiseyDog]

We have the Goldiblox and the Spinning machine and the girls will be getting the Parade Float. The toy gets moderate play. The thing that is different about this vs. other building toys is that this has a story and book to go along with it. If you watch the originail kickstarter video, the owner talks about how it's meant to bridge between things that girls tend to be drawn toward (stories and reading) and engineering type toys. For my girls this is true. We have legos and k'nex and they get no play. DDs just aren't into building for building sake. For them the story did help to get them intersted in the toy. As a stand alone toy it's fine, but doesn't get a ton of play as it just kinda does one thing. I'm hoping that with the additional kits with new peices, DDs will get more creative in building their own designs.

[kit]

If anyone's looking for toddlers/preschoolers, this is a "girly" building toy that's been a big hit for us:

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys--Bouquet-Arrangement-Playset/dp/B007BSXZZG

[♥ms.pacman♥]

If anyone's looking for toddlers/preschoolers, this is a "girly" building toy that's been a big hit for us:

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys--Bouquet-Arrangement-Playset/dp/B007BSXZZG


aw, cute!!

my dd is only 2, so i think a bit too young for the GoldieBlox. speaking of green toys, does anybody have this? this looks so cute
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-Tool-Set-Pink/dp/B005GTJ0L0/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y

oh and this? so cute
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Tough-KTB-01-Pink-POCKET-LITTLE/dp/B003UW5QLS/ref=pd_sim_t_6

[vonfirmath]

aw, cute!!

my dd is only 2, so i think a bit too young for the GoldieBlox. speaking of green toys, does anybody have this? this looks so cute
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-Tool-Set-Pink/dp/B005GTJ0L0/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y


We had the boys version of the Toy Set. As soon as he realized he couldn't make anything real, he lost interest.

He prefers IKEA furniture, I'm afraid.

[citymama]

We had the boys version of the Toy Set. As soon as he realized he couldn't make anything real, he lost interest.

He prefers IKEA furniture, I'm afraid.

Weirdly, much as I love the idea of Green Toys, other than the tea set, none of the Green toys items have been played much with at my home. Not even the adorable tugboat!

[vonfirmath]

Weirdly, much as I love the idea of Green Toys, other than the tea set, none of the Green toys items have been played much with at my home. Not even the adorable tugboat!

So far, around here, all the kitchen stuff and the stacking "blocks" -- My First Stacker -- have seen a lot of play. (Oh and the wonderful tugboat -- in the tub)

We do not have any cars. I had the ferry boat on a wish list for DD and am now trying to decide whether to get it myself.

[westwoodmom04]

Love the commercial, don't think the toys looks particularly interesting.

[wellyes]

I like that they use a slightly vile Beastie Boys song, turned on its head. I am not really a follower of that band, but they've got to be in their 40s by now, probably with daughters.

[YouAreTheFocus]

aw, cute!!

my dd is only 2, so i think a bit too young for the GoldieBlox. speaking of green toys, does anybody have this? this looks so cute
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-Tool-Set-Pink/dp/B005GTJ0L0/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y

oh and this? so cute
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Tough-KTB-01-Pink-POCKET-LITTLE/dp/B003UW5QLS/ref=pd_sim_t_6

We have the green toys tool box, DS got it around 2 and still uses it now at 4. Whenever we are fixing/bldg something he says "let me go get my tools" and brings it over to help.

[infomama]

Total awesomeness. Our dds help when we build furniture. They love it.

[infomama]

deleted.......

[PunkyBoo]

I also saw that commercial and love the idea of it, but am wondering if it's really a good toy or just a watered down pink version of other toys. Should I get this for 6 yo DD, or something else? I was thinking maybe a set of K'Nex or Snap Circuits? We already have Lego but she hasn't been that into it. I bought a book that shows how to build things out of 35 Lego bricks or less, maybe that will help her get into it more. We have Magnatiles and she likes that, and M&D architectural blocks but she doesn't play with it that much. She'd rather read.

That commercial is awesome! I'm a construction engineer but I didn't like legos as a kid. I love playing with my sons' magnatiles but they build much cooler stuff than I do. :rolleyes:
Goldenpig- look online at the Roominate sets- I would have LOVED those at your DDs age!

[kit]

aw, cute!!

my dd is only 2, so i think a bit too young for the GoldieBlox. speaking of green toys, does anybody have this? this looks so cute
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-Tool-Set-Pink/dp/B005GTJ0L0/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y


Oh yah, we definitely have that one too, and agree it falls more into the imaginative play bucket than building toys. DD will take it out and pretend to screw something for a couple minutes and manipulate each of the pieces, then off to the next toy. But generally we've had great success with Green Toys - dishes, cookware, tea set, stacking cups, plus that flower building thing. Though I've avoided buying any of the vehicles for Green Toys based on reviews saying the wheels don't roll well.

[marie]

That commercial is awesome! I'm a construction engineer but I didn't like legos as a kid. I love playing with my sons' magnatiles but they build much cooler stuff than I do. :rolleyes:
Goldenpig- look online at the Roominate sets- I would have LOVED those at your DDs age!

I was going to suggest Roominate also.
http://www.roominatetoy.com/

That's what santa is bringing instead of Goldieblox. My DDs are constantly building for their polly pockets (which Roominate accommodates, according to their website), horse figurines, MLP's, etc.

There aren't nearly as many Amazon reviews on them yet as Goldieblox but they are all positive.
http://www.amazon.com/Roominate-R2002-Deluxe/dp/B00D4M7QUI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384995230&sr=8-1&keywords=roominate

[ellies mom]

We have the Spinning GoldieBlox set. It got played with quite a bit for a couple of days but now it just sits. I love the concept of the toy but there are other STEM related toys that I'd rather spend my money on. Other than a new story, there just doesn't seem be anything really different in the second set. Right now, we are thinking about getting Lego Mindstorms for DD1 and Lego Wedo for DD2 for Christmas. I'm dying to get Little Bits (http://littlebits.cc/) but my Christmas budget for the girls is pretty used up. I may just have to get it for myself instead.

I need to look into Roominate more. It looks like something DD2 would enjoy building for her MLPs.

[anonomom]

Ooh, I hadn't seen Roominates, but they look perfect for DDs! DD2 loves building houses for her MLP figurines out of magnatiles, so I think she could really love this.

[hellokitty]

I also saw that commercial and love the idea of it, but am wondering if it's really a good toy or just a watered down pink version of other toys. Should I get this for 6 yo DD, or something else? I was thinking maybe a set of K'Nex or Snap Circuits? We already have Lego but she hasn't been that into it. I bought a book that shows how to build things out of 35 Lego bricks or less, maybe that will help her get into it more. We have Magnatiles and she likes that, and M&D architectural blocks but she doesn't play with it that much. She'd rather read.

:yeahthat: See, maybe this is b/c I am a mom of 3 boys. However, I feel like while the concept of this company is nice, it's just basically another avenue toward the, "everything must be pink for girls" trend and I feel like it's riding more off of that, than the actual products. Ppl will probably get PO'd at me for saying this, but what the heck is wrong with girls playing with primary and neutral colored toys? Why must everything be pink or purple? I just think that there are plenty of good building/science type of toys out there, but I don't get why everything these days must be pinkified, except that it's basically a form of marketing brainwashing. My dh saw the commercial and said that he doesn't get it either. Esp with guns, he says that the big trend now is making pink guns (real guns, not toy) for girls and women. Whatever happened to the women's right's movement, that women and girls now demand that everything be a girlified version?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

:yeahthat: See, maybe this is b/c I am a mom of 3 boys. However, I feel like while the concept of this company is nice, it's just basically another avenue toward the, "everything must be pink for girls" trend and I feel like it's riding more off of that, than the actual products. Ppl will probably get PO'd at me for saying this, but what the heck is wrong with girls playing with primary and neutral colored toys? Why must everything be pink or purple? I just think that there are plenty of good building/science type of toys out there, but I don't get why everything these days must be pinkified, except that it's basically a form of marketing brainwashing. My dh saw the commercial and said that he doesn't get it either. Esp with guns, he says that the big trend now is making pink guns (real guns, not toy) for girls and women. Whatever happened to the women's right's movement, that women and girls now demand that everything be a girlified version?
Oh, I hear you. I don't get why things have to be pinkified either. But the fact of the matter is, toy stores (TRU, etc) are divided with boy toys and girl toys and all the chemistry/building/trains/science stuff is in the boy section, all the kitchen/doll/dress up stuff is in the pink girl section. i think making things pink or "girl colors" is taken a sign that encourage girls to play with it, that says "this is for girls" so maybe kids/parents won't write it off as a boy toy. If making some building sets in girl colors is what it takes to get some girls to be interested in this, leading them to get more into math/science, then i say it is well-worth it.

i get what you are saying though. i think the Lego friends/pink Legos has gone a bit overboard. when i was a kid they did not have that at all and i had fun with the hospital set, gas station, etc. my brother and i played iwth the same legos, and often got joint Lego sets for CHristmas, as they were pretty pricey. now it seems like girls feel like they have to buy the pink Friends sets ,as those are the "girl legos" and it does seem too frilly to me..as if all girls do is hang out by the pool with their friends. I haven't seen any of the cool robotics Legos all pinkified. DD has the "girl" Duplos that are cupcakes and pink as well as the Dora duplos, but at least the Dora has only few pink legos and is more gender-neutral. I'm hoping to get them both gender neutral Legos for CHristmas.

[wellyes]

:yeahthat: See, maybe this is b/c I am a mom of 3 boys. However, I feel like while the concept of this company is nice, it's just basically another avenue toward the, "everything must be pink for girls" trend and I feel like it's riding more off of that, than the actual products. Ppl will probably get PO'd at me for saying this, but what the heck is wrong with girls playing with primary and neutral colored toys? Why must everything be pink or purple? I just think that there are plenty of good building/science type of toys out there, but I don't get why everything these days must be pinkified, except that it's basically a form of marketing brainwashing. My dh saw the commercial and said that he doesn't get it either. Esp with guns, he says that the big trend now is making pink guns (real guns, not toy) for girls and women. Whatever happened to the women's right's movement, that women and girls now demand that everything be a girlified version?

I agree it's marketing brainwashing -but - that doesn't make it unnecessary. I don't think parents are discouraging their daughters from enjoying Snap Circuits. But in practice, most girls don't play with Snap Circuits. They want to play with what they see other girls playing with. See the explosion of Rainbow Looms, it's not that millions girls simultaneously decided to buy them independently. Girls buy it because their friends are doing it. If there is a "cool" engineering toy for girls, that would not be a bad thing.

Goldieblox is a crowdsourced product, it came from Kickstarter, there are a whole lot of parents of girls who love this idea -- not that there will be a pinkified engineering toy, but that there will be an engineering toy their girls will be drawn to.

[Mopey]

I remember seeing this here and I do think the whole idea of approaching this is a way that speaks to girls (book/story) is great. I do agree about all the pink and purple though!! YIKES. I'm new to the toy aisles so it's kind of a bummer. I just buy Mopey what is unisex - I like the colors more and I'm still in the mindset of getting everything unisex in case we have a boy some day. :)

PS - about Green Toys - Mopey got the regular blocks for Christmas last year and she's never played with them. And frankly when we've tried to play they barely hold together when stacked. I love the toys but now I'm wary....

[carolinacool]

Yeah, I think having everything in pink/purple is overkill. And this is coming from someone who loves pink, has pink stones in her engagement ring and is routinely told by good friends that I am " such a princess" at age 38. :bag And while I totally embrace my Pink Princess leanings, I certainly realize that not every girl/woman feels the same way. Tough parenting waters to navigate for girl moms.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I agree it's marketing brainwashing -but - that doesn't make it unnecessary. I don't think parents are discouraging their daughters from enjoying Snap Circuits. But in practice, most girls don't play with Snap Circuits. They want to play with what they see other girls playing with. See the explosion of Rainbow Looms, it's not that millions girls simultaneously decided to buy them independently. Girls buy it because their friends are doing it. If there is a "cool" engineering toy for girls, that would not be a bad thing.

Goldieblox is a crowdsourced product, it came from Kickstarter, there are a whole lot of parents of girls who love this idea -- not that there will be a pinkified engineering toy, but that there will be an engineering toy their girls will be drawn to.

:yeahthat: Once again, you said it better than I could. Yes, i think this is the crux of the issue. How many posts on here re: their kids begging for a specific toy (doll, gaming system,electronics, whatever) simply because "all their friends have it." There is such a huge social pressure to fit in and i think girls especially feel this. Girls will be more likely to play with something that they see other girls playing with or are interested in. Research has suggested that one big reason girls don't pursue math/science is because they don't want to be seen as "nerdy", they are afraid of being different, that it's something boys are better at, etc.

the thing that saddens me is that it seems like even though it's 2013, toys these days seem EXTREMELY sexualized/gender-specific. When i was 4, I begged my parents for an stuffed ET doll bc that's what everyone had. When DH was 5 he was obsessed with Care Bears. When we were 7, DH and I both had Cabbage Patch dolls our moms had made us. Now you look at toys marketed to girls these days and it makes me cringe, seriously...it's all about being thin, super sexy looking..it's a bit disturbing.

http://www.ivillage.com/um-so-i-guess-candyland-sexy-now/4-a-534959

[citymama]

:yeahthat: See, maybe this is b/c I am a mom of 3 boys. However, I feel like while the concept of this company is nice, it's just basically another avenue toward the, "everything must be pink for girls" trend and I feel like it's riding more off of that, than the actual products. Ppl will probably get PO'd at me for saying this, but what the heck is wrong with girls playing with primary and neutral colored toys? Why must everything be pink or purple? I just think that there are plenty of good building/science type of toys out there, but I don't get why everything these days must be pinkified, except that it's basically a form of marketing brainwashing. My dh saw the commercial and said that he doesn't get it either. Esp with guns, he says that the big trend now is making pink guns (real guns, not toy) for girls and women. Whatever happened to the women's right's movement, that women and girls now demand that everything be a girlified version?

In general, I completely agree with that BUT I think you should give a little credit to this particular product. It isn't just a pink version of a toy that maybe people buy more for boys. It's intended to appeal not to girls like my DD2, who can't go anywhere without her Legos and trucks, and they should NOT be pink, thank you very much. They are for kids like my DD1, who loves to read and tell stories but has had very little interest in Legos and building blocks, despite our buying these and many other gender neutral toys for her. The pathway of combining reading with engineering is a way to bring the reluctant or even intimidated girl into engineering, and I would have also loved this as a kid. It depends on the child and their learning pathways, but I won't deny that these pathways are different for different kids. I think GB is doing (or intended to do) more than just stereotypically girlify toys by painting them pink.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)

[vonfirmath]

Oh, I hear you. I don't get why things have to be pinkified either. But the fact of the matter is, toy stores (TRU, etc) are divided with boy toys and girl toys and all the chemistry/building/trains/science stuff is in the boy section, all the kitchen/doll/dress up stuff is in the pink girl section. i think making things pink or "girl colors" is taken a sign that encourage girls to play with it, that says "this is for girls" so maybe kids/parents won't write it off as a boy toy. If making some building sets in girl colors is what it takes to get some girls to be interested in this, leading them to get more into math/science, then i say it is well-worth it.

i get what you are saying though. i think the Lego friends/pink Legos has gone a bit overboard. when i was a kid they did not have that at all and i had fun with the hospital set, gas station, etc. my brother and i played iwth the same legos, and often got joint Lego sets for CHristmas, as they were pretty pricey. now it seems like girls feel like they have to buy the pink Friends sets ,as those are the "girl legos" and it does seem too frilly to me..as if all girls do is hang out by the pool with their friends. I haven't seen any of the cool robotics Legos all pinkified. DD has the "girl" Duplos that are cupcakes and pink as well as the Dora duplos, but at least the Dora has only few pink legos and is more gender-neutral. I'm hoping to get them both gender neutral Legos for Christmas.

1. Friends sets are NOT just pink. They are aqua, yellow, tan, white, blue, purple, pink, and a bunch of other colors thrown in. They have expanded the Lego pallette greatly into colors that Lego didn't do much with before, allowing all builders more choices in their creativity. The boxes are quite purple.

2. Friends sets are more interesting than what they are doing with City these days. All sorts of houses, shops, schools while they do the same old police, fire, vehicle sets in City. Friends sets are also a lot closer to what got me into Legos than what they have now. (Bathroom, Kitchen sets in the old Homemaker series).

3. Personally, I was thrilled they made a Pool set. I swam as a child and had not seen a pool show up in the regular Lego series. This set not only has a pool (with restrooms! And Showers!) but the diving board "bounces" like a diving board! It uses Technic pieces. And a cool slide for slipping people into the water. (or the included ball)

For pictures:
Here are pictures of the two biggest sets this year:
The High School:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8259/8621064427_61a7812e46.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsbricks/8621064427/)
LEGO Friends Heartlake High - the build (http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsbricks/8621064427/) by FriendsBricks (http://www.flickr.com/people/friendsbricks/), on Flickr

The Dolphin Cruiser:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8090/8461714301_6bd698f500.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsbricks/8461714301/)
Dolphin Cruiser (http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsbricks/8461714301/) by FriendsBricks (http://www.flickr.com/people/friendsbricks/), on Flickr

[vonfirmath]

If you want pink, there will be more in 2014.

The Beach House is yellow:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5510/10822947976_cb45e33415.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsbricks/10822947976/)
Stephanie's Beach House (41037) build (http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsbricks/10822947976/) by FriendsBricks (http://www.flickr.com/people/friendsbricks/), on Flickr

But the Ranch House is pink:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7337/10823054334_8f1ef8ae4b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsbricks/10823054334/)
Sunshine Ranch (41039) the build (http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsbricks/10823054334/) by FriendsBricks (http://www.flickr.com/people/friendsbricks/), on Flickr

[goldenpig]

Thanks for the recs! Still on the fence about the Goldieblox, but I am definitely going to look into the Roominate set! Also planning to get a set of SnapCircuits for her. I also started a thread on science kits if you have any recs for good ones:
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?469299-Recs-for-great-science-kit-S-o-Goldieblox-other-good-math-science-engineering-toys