Bright Littles Helps Parents Connect With Their Children Over Meaningful Dialogues

When the COVID pandemic hit, Tara Miko Ballentine was raising her four-year-old daughter, Poppy, and working in Austin’s hospitality industry. Overnight, her life turned upside down. 

“I lost every single client (of my marketing agency) within about 24 hours,” she recalls. “At the same time, I gained my daughter being at home full-time. There were a lot of emotions that she and I were both having with everything she ever knew being ripped away from her.” 

Not only did Poppy lose access to school, but she also lost the opportunity to see her Australian grandparents in person, a situation that persisted for more than three years. This time of uncertainty forced Ballentine to reconsider her career and parenting style, especially when supporting her daughter. 

“I was trying to solve my own problem of having conversations with my daughter and meeting her where she was,” explains Ballentine. “Specifically, at the time, I wanted to talk to her about feelings, but I couldn’t find any age-appropriate tools to help me.” 

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Tara Mako Balantine (Photo by Keelyn Costello)

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Working through feelings (photo courtesy of Bright Littles)

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Bright Littles Workbooks (photo courtesy of Bright Littles)

Without the tools she was looking for, she decided to create them herself. Tara launched Bright Littles at the beginning of 2022. The first product was a deck of conversation cards that held 100 intriguing questions and 25 activities on safety, nature, health, diversity, and self. The cards can ignite short yet powerful conversations in the car or at the dinner table, allowing parents to connect with their children over meaningful dialogues. 

She later self-published four journals diving into safety, feelings, leadership, and digital citizenship. Guided activities and games make interactive learning easy, with indications of when caregivers are meant to step in and reward badges for kids to stay engaged. The prompts and activities have been researched and validated by child therapists, experts with PhDs, community leaders, parents, and, of course, kids.

While feedback has been generally positive, especially from parents who were facing similar challenges engaging with their kids in a rapidly changing world, some retailers have pushed back on specific questions, especially those around gun safety, different religions, and the LGBTQI+ community. Ballentine has strongly refused to remove these topics, recognizing the importance of having open dialogue with children about what they face in today’s world. 

“My goal is to wrap my arms around you with our products and to make all families feel welcome here,” she says.  

Some retailers have declined to carry Bright Littles because they feel those topics are too controversial. However, museums and local shops like The Herb Bar have been supportive. She recently started selling on Amazon, where busy parents primarily shop, plus Bright Littles has been featured in CNN, Reader’s Digest, and Glamour. 

With the world that the internet and social media have opened up for kids growing up today, it’s more important than ever that parents help young people understand how to interpret and process their feelings about complex topics. 

“I say this is my love note to my daughter, but honestly, it’s my love note to myself,” says Ballentine. “I believe if I had been prepared with these conversations growing up, I would have stood up for myself more when mistreated. I have this opportunity to build a bridge — to be different and better for my daughter.”

Learn more at brightlittles.com.