This year, we’re highlighting some of the remarkable stories behind some of Ireland’s Extraordinary Entrepreneurs. Check out the story of Clever Tots Toy Club below!
My name is Jenel Sanders and I was born and bred in Co. Cork and I now live in Bandon with my husband and young son Orlando, aged 2-years. I met my husband Didier in Dubai where I worked with Emirates as a pilot for 5-years. Didier is South African and he works in Aviation Security. His job takes him all over the world and continues to do so.
The concept of introducing a regular ‘toys for hire’ business came about after our son Orlando was born while we were both living and working abroad in Dubai. Realising just how expensive infant toys can be and the speed at which children can become bored of them, we searched for a more sustainable alternative.
Discovering a toy rental service was a welcome solution to our search for sustainable toys and Orlando really enjoyed the experience. New toys would arrive every month to help keep him stimulated and support him in meeting his developmental milestones. Returning to Ireland to my home county of Cork in late 2020 on foot of the worldwide pandemic, we all really missed the excitement surrounding our monthly delivery of toys. Realising there was no similar offering in Ireland, we decided to form their own Irish sustainable toy rental club.
Clever Tots Toy Club is an Irish subscription based monthly toy rental service, that enables parents to introduce sustainable sourced and developmentally appropriate toys to their young children. Both Didier and I feel a real sense of personal responsibility to contribute to helping the environment for future generations to enjoy. This is why Clever Tots Toy Club has sustainability at its core. Our member-based club consciously selects from a range of eco-friendly wooden toys and those made from recycled plastics, for little hands to explore.
The power of play cannot be under-estimated when it comes to young children. Our Clever Tots Toy Club seeks to support parents in engaging in play that will help develop their child’s cognitive, emotional, physical and communication ability. All the toys provided through our Clever Tots Toy Club have been selected from high quality, eco-friendly brands by Ollwyn Moran, an Irish Paediatric Neuro-developmental Expert.
Most of all, as parents we really wanted to provide a regular fun and novel opportunities to parents spend quality time and have fun playing with their children. With a new toy box arriving every month, Clever Tots Toy Club does just that. With developmentally stimulating toys for children from 3-months to 36-months, we are strong believers that engaged play is one of the most important building blocks in a child’s early life.
