“Arkey, Arkey!” The young model was visibly happy when he saw himself in the bol.com toy book. On the first page of the Gadgets and Electronics chapter, he can be seen swinging between the music boxes.
It fits him perfectly, Lilian says. “He likes music. That makes him happy. During the shoot, he was very well regarded. His favorite music was on the air.” While Arkey was moving in his wheelchair to the beat of the Gangnam Style song, he was photographed.
That happy child has had difficult years, and he still confronts himself every day with what happened to him in 2018. Arkey played in the backyard of a house in Curaçao where he stayed with his family. A motorist backed off, didn’t see the boy and ran over him.
“The car went over his head,” Lilian says. “He’s been paralyzed on his left side and has all kinds of problems stemming from the brain damage he’s been through. He Can’t function in any way like a healthy 6-year-old. Even talking is difficult.”
‘More and more normal’
“I walk down the street with Arkey every day. A lot of people look at him and a lot of kids too.” This is exactly why Lilian thinks it is very positive and important that her child is in the toy book. “The more people see him, the more normal he’ll be.”
on the cover
Jedediah Arthur (10) and Romy Heere (11) got a spot on the cover of the toy book. Jedediah has vitiligo, a skin disease, which causes white pigment spots on his arm. Romy has Down syndrome. Both of them have already done modeling work.
“This is the best book to be in,” says Joyce, Romy’s mother. “Each photo shows Romy with a big smile. We are very happy that the focus is on the positive image of children with disabilities. They are also part of it.”
It was exactly what they had in mind in the webshop when they made The Great Toy Book, says Laurent Lubbers. He is Design & Creation manager and together with his team he created the catalog. The entire book is made by bol.com itself, including the photos of the children. It takes a year to develop the special end-of-year guide.
“We want to do a little better every time and this year we have taken it one step further,” says Lubbers. “Each child is special and each child has a story. We want all children to identify with what they see in the book.”
Throughout the book there are photos of children of various origins and children with disabilities. And even the advertised toys contain diversity. “There are Barbies with a prosthetic leg or in a wheelchair, and there are Playmobil dolls with different skin colors. Manufacturers are also paying more and more attention to diversity.”
“Super,” says Arkey’s mother. “To combat racism and discrimination, you have to start with children. You have to teach them from an early age that it doesn’t matter how you look. That representation in toys or, for example, in movies is very good.”
Lilian has already had many nice reactions to her son’s modeling work. Attention was also paid to this at school, Arkey’s teacher put the toy book photo on the projector in the classroom.
And yes, Lilian understands that. Arkey may be in a wheelchair, “but he’s also very handsome.”
Injury starts at a young age
Research shows that children develop prejudices and stereotypes at an early age. “Then you are already talking about young children,” explains Hanneke Felten, senior researcher against discrimination at Movisie.
“They prefer to play with children like themselves. They receive prejudices and stereotypes from their environment consciously and unconsciously.”
According to Felten, you can “certainly” reduce this, for example, by showing diversity in a positive way. Or play with children who are less like you.
“So what you see in books and movies or what toys you play with is also important. Because children tend to imitate what they see, so prejudices arise and that’s how you get rid of them.”
