Global Wonders Bringing Global Awareness to our Little Wonders

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor

When you put the words road-trip with 2 young children (ages 3 and 5) together, there has to be a 3rd component: the DVD player. So, before our 4-hour family road-trip, to visit friends in Las Vegas, I stocked up on some DVDs. I got the usual Disney and Pixar ones , but I also wanted something a little different that my daughters had not seen before. I came across a DVD series by Global Wonders. The DVDs introduce children to a wide variety of cultures that may be both in your neighborhood and/or in different parts of the world. I bought a couple of them for our trip.

The car was packed, the dogs looked after and we all climbed into our minivan for our mini-vacation. Not ten minutes into our trip my husband and I almost decided to turn around and head back home. I pulled out my travel bag filled with games, food and movies for the kids. Ten minutes into the car ride seemed a little early to do this but, hey, whatever works. I put on the first Global Wonders DVD and, for almost a hour, we had pure bliss. From the front seat, we weren’t able to see the screen but we could still hear the music. It was upbeat, cheery and quite pleasant to listen to. I loved the story line and obviously the girls did also. After it was over they both yelled ‘again!’ I told them that I had another video like it but they really wanted to see the same one again. So, we put it on and continued to enjoy our ride. After viewing both videos twice, we were almost at our destination.

I checked out the company upon our return and discovered that it has only been around since 2007. It was created by woman by the name of Rashmi Turner, a first generation American whose parents are from India, who is also a working mother and former executive at the Walt Disney Company who previously was instrumental in the success of The Baby Einstein productions. I loved the fact that each of their products are designed to help the individual child gain a more enlightened and educated view of the world, and inspire and encourage them to form cross-cultural friendships. By having a broader understanding, children can increase self-identity, self-esteem and their overall social competence. All of my children have gone to, or are still attending a multi-cultural school, because we feel it is important for them to experience different customs, languages and lifestyles that shows them not only the differences but also the similarities in each of us. I commend Global Wonders for doing their part in bringing this world closer together. Amazon.com carries all their DVDs and CDs.

You can get snippets on YouTube or, with an iTunes account, you can subscribe to their podcasts for free; just enter search term “Global Wonders”.

Enjoy! Disfrutar! Appréciez! 楽しむ！Gustare!