Jovie Esene, not yet 1 year old, has ascended to the group finals of the “Baby of the Year 2026” contest.
Jovie “loves to laugh and is already very determined when she wants something,” per her profile on the contest website.
According to the website, an ad campaign for the Honest Company will feature the baby “champion,” and so will an advertorial in Variety magazine. The winning family will receive $25,000.
A representative of Colossal, the company that manages the Baby of the Year’s fundraising campaign, told The Reflector in an email that the contest “gives families an opportunity to celebrate their little ones, bring friends and loved ones together, and support a cause that helps other children. The competition is designed to connect that excitement with meaningful charitable impact.”
Money raised benefits Baby2Baby, a nonprofit that provides essentials such as diapers and formula to children facing poverty. Jessica Alba, who presents Baby of the Year, is a Baby2Baby board member.
After deducting fees and variable costs, the remaining funds (about 50 percent of total donations) are granted to Baby2Baby by DTCare, the nonprofit entity that receives all donations. In 2025, DTCare granted $17.7 million to Baby2Baby, following the Baby of the Year campaign.
The Esenes live in Vancouver, Washington, and Danielle Esene has worked in Battle Ground for years. Osa and Danielle Esene also have two boys, Everin and Jiraiya — who Jovie adores.
They don’t plan to have any more children, so they wanted to make the most of their last time with a baby in the house. When Danielle stumbled across the Baby of the Year contest on social media, she said, “It seemed like something fun to do outside of regular everyday life.”
Voting began in September, and Jovie now ranks in the top five. The starting pool of contestants isn’t known, but Danielle Esene estimates Jovie’s group initially comprised between 40 and 50 babies.
To advance their baby, family and friends follow a link to the contestant profile, where viewers can see the baby’s overall ranking.
Viewers and voters do not have access to an updating leaderboard or exact standings. Once a day, anyone may cast a free vote. Additional votes cost $1.
“That’s been one of the most fun things … seeing our friends and family get so into it,” Danielle said. “Some of them have set alarms on their phones to remember to vote.”
Colossal manages many other contests in the same mold, such as Hasbro’s “Toddler of the Year.” The company has received complaints through the Better Business Bureau, and the contest has attracted controversy on platforms like Facebook and Reddit.
Some parents worry about the use — and possible misuse — of their child’s image, given that Baby of the Year rules grant the “operator and its representatives and agents the right to publish, use, adapt, edit, and/or modify such entry in any way, in any and all media, without limitation and without consideration to Entrant or their Child.”
“We do not sell, repurpose or share those photos with third parties,” a Colossal representative wrote to The Reflector.
Additionally, some voters and participants feel the pay-to-vote model is unfair and have concerns about the organization’s transparency when it comes to voting and scoring.
“My grandson moved into first place during an earlier round after I purchased votes, but later dropped in the rankings with no information showing how many votes separated the contestants,” reads part of an initial complaint concerning 2026’s Toddler of the Year contest, posted on Colossal’s BBB page.
Colossal responded to the complaint: “It is our responsibility to protect the integrity of the competition and avoid voters from strategically targeting specific numbers. We want participants focused on building genuine community support, not reacting to a live scoreboard.”
Danielle Esene says she and her family try to be discerning about where they share the link, and minimize the sharing of personal information. They feel comfortable with the organization and the research they’ve done.
“Just getting this far has turned it into such a funny and unexpected experience for our family,” Danielle said. “One day I’m definitely going to tell her all of this as a funny story.”
