I have noticed lately that my girls, especially Leah have picked up saying some not so nice words or “Tacky” words as I have learned. I was excited to receive a Tacky Box to review and teach my girls it’s not ok to say “Tacky” words.
The Tacky Box is a great way to each kids on which words are nice and which ones are Tacky! Tacky words are those not so nice words or swear words that you may cringe when you hear kids saying them. My girls have started saying stupid and shut-up which I know to be definite tacky words, Leah has also dropped her first 4 letter word which shocked me to the core! I can’t stand hearing them come out of my kids mouths! I have also heard some of their friends use butt or butthead which I do NOT think is appropriate for my girls to use. I really love the Tacky Box we received.
The Tacky Box comes with a cute storybook either:
- “Margo’s Magnificent Choice” for girls or Max’s Magnificent Choice for Boys and
- Authentic Tacky Box (5×8 wooden box
featuring Margo and Max) - Instructions for use from Authors
- Special notepad featuring Margo and Max.
Margo’s Magnificent Choice is about Margo the Monkey who overhears a Parrot talking and decides to try out those new words she heard without really knowing their meaning or how they could hurt others. Margo uses “Fatso, Dummies, Stupid heads” to try and play with the other animals and doesn’t know why they leave angry or won’t play with her. In the end she listens to her wise old Owl friend and realizes that she is using “Tacky Words”. She decides to change her attitude and her words and starts using kind words like beautiful, fantastic etc. Margo also learns from the owl to write down her Tacky Words in her Tacky Box and take them out of her mind and heart forever.
I really love that Margo decides to start using kind words and not mean, tacky words. I feel like my girls hear words from either my husband and I, TV, friends etc. and don’t really know the meaning when they start saying them. After Leah and I read the book I decided it was time for her to decorate and put her tacky words into the box. Leah came up with quite a few that she knew were wrong or hurtful to other people.
“Necessity is the mother of invention.” This old adage was fully realized for Chris Phelps, the day her daughter Emma, then halfway through her kindergarten year, nonchalantly used her first four letter word. Shocked and unprepared for
the moment, Chris panicked –then got creative – and Tacky Box came to be. Tacky Box was a mom’s impromptu attempt to help her daughter choose her words and actions carefully. And, thanks to Emma’s choice to be kind, it worked.
The unexpected result was how well it worked – not just on four letter words but also unkind phrases and tacky behavior – and the resulting ripple effect. After the first week, Emma and her little brother, Jake, both began to take pride in distinguishing between what was appropriate and inappropriate and in policing their own words and actions. Proud of their individual decisions to be kind, they began to encourage those around them to make the same choice, and more often than not, they did.
Knowing every parent faces the issue of tacky words and behavior, Chris and her mom, Cindy Kent, partnered up to share the idea that worked so well for Emma and Jake. As a former educator and professional artist who understands the value of a lesson, Cindy created Margo and Max the Monkeys to help tell Emma’s story and hopefully make the job of a parent a little bit easier by creating a visual and hands on tool.
Having witnessed the impact of Tacky Box on Emma, Jake and their friends, Chris’ longtime friends, Karen Cuskey and James Regester joined in the effort to take Tacky Box’s message of personal responsibility and kindness to the masses. Tacky Box started with a four letter word and evolved into a collaborative effort to make the world a kinder place, one child at a time.” (Tacky Box website)
I absolutely love the Tacky Box and know your kids will love Margo and Max too!
Please visit www.tackybox.com to order yours today.
The Tacky Box gets Bragging Rights!
