‘The Baby Sitters Club’ is on Netflix: Their message is everything we need
Premiering globally on July 3, the new series The Baby Sitters Club will hit Netflix. Based on the best-selling 1990s book series by Anne Martin, The Baby Sitters Club is about a group of girls who start their own babysitting business in the fictional town of Stoneybrook.
Even though this nostalgic series made a huge splashback in the 90s, (with both a television series and a movie) a modern reboot of The Baby Sitters Club will be just as relevant as it was back then. Young girls who are facing setbacks can draw inspiration from this strong and very capable group of friends. Scratch that – anybody can be inspired by the warm story told in The Babysitters Club.
The Baby Sitters Club have left a permanent footprint in the hearts of many who watched the series or read the books. Even though it has made its mark, this new generation still needs to hear the special messages that The Baby Sitters Club has in store for us.
Prodigious entrepreneurs
When you hear someone say “successful business partners” do you picture a team of young girls? Well, you will soon! One of the most powerful messages The Baby Sitters Club champions is that if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. It’s incredibly important that girls know they can become just as successful – if not more so – than any man out there.
Trust me – these girls have it figured out. Sure they’re not perfect – they’re still learning the ropes – but for their age, they have amazing skills in managing, delegating, planning, and more. Their roles are professionally divided: a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. The club creates detailed business plans, designs logos, records, & rules for their high-quality babysitting services.
Creator of the series, Anne Martin, knew that she wanted to send the message that even though realistically these business plans don’t always work out, women can think big and do their best. Martin writes: “I still wanted to present this idea of girls who could be entrepreneurial, who ran this business successfully, even though they were not perfect.”
Tight-knit friendships
The Baby Sitters Club is about the ventures of the club’s business, but more importantly, it’s about how the business brings them together. Even though they’re each exceedingly different & unique, they’re all very close friends.
No more of that cut-throat business rivalry depicted of businesswomen in media. These girls form permanent bonds because of the business they share. When girls work together nothing can stop them.
Life-long friendships like the ones in The Baby Sitters Club push us to value our relationships and never let them slip away. There’s no room for superficial friends who ghost you. Real friends stick together. In the books, the narrator group member Claudia even says, “Sometimes I think of my friends as family, too. Is that weird? I don’t know. But my friends do feel like family.”
Diversity matters
Another element of the classic story of The Baby Sitters Club we can look forward to in the new Netflix series is diversity. Not only are the characters unique in their personality, they come from different racial backgrounds, religions, & perspectives. Differing points of view in The Baby Sitters Club adds variety but also union.
Including only one demographic would flatten the narrative. Learning about multiple stories & characters sends the message that each background is valuable. Claudia, again, puts it best: “We’re a great group. I’m not bragging, I’m just being honest. We’re all different, but our differences work together to bring out the best in each of us . . . which, of course, helps make us good babysitters.”
Girl power
The Baby Sitters Club tells young women that they are powerful and that their trials and tribulations matter. The girls in The Baby Sitters Club do make mistakes but they are intelligent and learn how to thrive.
Proper representation isn’t even a question in The Baby Sitters Club. In the title alone it passes the Bechdel test with flying colors — the girls talk about much more important things than dumb boys. Sleepovers are about business ladies, not gossip!
The Baby Sitters Club will definitely give a meaningful feminist perspective that celebrates the success & friendship of girls everywhere. Stories about young women who take charge will never stop being important. Even though The Baby Sitters Club sent these strong messages over thirty years ago, they’re just as pressing now — we can’t wait to see them resurface in Netflix’s new reboot.
