The Story Behind CraftedKids

You could call it scratching your own itch, but the idea behind my startup is something very personal. So, here we go. I was in US for 4 years. One of the things that really impressed me there was their education system. Their practices and curriculum are such that kids are not pressurized about studies up to Std. VI.

Back in India, I wanted to make sure that my daughter also has a stress free childhood. I wanted her to learn naturally, at her own pace, and what she liked. Hence, we got her admission into Sishu Montessori School, where there are no books or homework for the first 3 years! . She is doing pretty well at school and we are very happy with her growth and learning in a natural way.

We gifted our daughter an ipad on her 3rd birthday. Just in a matter of few days she started solving puzzles on it. And within a month she was able to recognize a lot many countries and solve a good deal of jigsaw puzzles. You can imagine. I was a proud papa, and was basking in that glory J, not to mention the exhilaration of my wife.

Like normal parents, we were insistent that our friends and family also recognize the prodigious talent. Sure they were impressed, but sadly, their compliments were inevitably followed by a comment "Now beta you should also start performing so well in singing or dancing so that you can perform on TV and bring laurels to your parents". Tshhh. There goes the air from the bubble of happiness.

On a more serious note, what really bothered us was that everyone was so obsessed with the limelight and resultant adulation of singing/dancing reality shows, that every other talent was getting neglected. Why should anyone tell a child that one creative ability is better than every other one out there?

A child should be praised for any talent or creative ability, not just singing and dancing. We, the adults, should let the child choose their hobby and excel in it. We should NOT impose anything just because it is in trend, or because it has more opportunities. I always wanted to do something about it, but it never is easy to leave a well-paid job. More so when you are married, with a kid.

But one fine day I decided to take the plunge and CraftedKids.com was born. My family also supported immensely in this decision. Our vision is to provide a platform to kids for all sorts of skills other than singing or dancing. It is not that we do not admire singing or dancing, but those talents are already getting more than their fair share of attention, and there are more than enough platforms for kids with good singing and dancing abilities.

This is just the beginning. We know that there will be a lot of hurdles on the way. Let us see how it goes.

Meanwhile, please take a look at our website www.CraftedKids.Com, check out our contests, and kindly  comment, so that we know what you like and what we need to improve. 

Deepak Singhal

Founder, CraftedKids.Com