A 3.5-year-old girl from St. Cloud has been named the winner of the 2026 Toddler of the Year contest, a national title she's claiming despite a genetic diagnosis doctors once said she wouldn't survive. Sarah McNamara was born with thanatophoric dysplasia, a rare skeletal disorder, and her family says she's now beating odds that specialists had considered close to impossible.
Sarah's win was reported by CBS News, which detailed how the Minnesota toddler will travel to Hollywood to receive her crown, take part in a photoshoot, and participate in the Hollywood Christmas Parade. The competition itself is organized by fundraising platform Colossal in partnership with toy manufacturer Hasbro, with actress Vanessa Hudgens supporting and spotlighting this year's campaign, which benefits the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program, according to Colossal. The grand prize package includes $25,000 in cash, a national advertising campaign, and the honor of serving as Junior Grand Marshal of the Hollywood Christmas Parade, per the same organization's contest materials.
A Diagnosis Doctors Called Lethal
Sarah has thanatophoric dysplasia, a form of dwarfism in which the skeleton is too small for the organs, the CBS News report notes. The condition occurs in around 1 in 35,000 births, according to the National Institutes of Health, and it's classified in medical literature as lethal. The name itself comes from Greek words meaning “death-bearing,” reflecting the reality that most affected infants die in the perinatal period from severe respiratory failure caused by underdeveloped lungs inside a tiny chest cavity, according to MedlinePlus Genetics.
The disorder is caused by mutations in the FGFR3 gene, per the same source. Medical literature further divides the condition into two subtypes: Type I, marked by short limbs with bowed thigh bones and flattened spine bones, and Type II, marked by straight thigh bones and a severe skull malformation known as a cloverleaf skull. Sarah's diagnosis aligns with the more common Type I variant.
A Mother's Search for Hope
Sarah's mother, Amber Traxler, said doctors told her that Sarah would not survive, the CBS News report states. Rather than accept that as the final word, Amber Traxler found case studies about other children with thanatophoric dysplasia who had survived, and she decided to do everything possible to give her daughter a longer life.
That determination has paid off in ways doctors didn't predict. Sarah continues to meet milestones her medical team didn't foresee — she can eat food by mouth, hold a bottle, and her family says she's now working toward learning to walk. She receives ongoing checkups at Gillette Children's, a regional pediatric healthcare system in St. Paul that specializes in complex pediatric orthopedics, skeletal dysplasias, and other rare pediatric physical conditions, according to Shriners Children's.
The Medical Reality Behind Long-Term Survival
Long-term survival for children with thanatophoric dysplasia typically requires intensive, ongoing interventions, including early tracheostomy placement, long-term mechanical ventilation, and neurosurgical procedures such as suboccipital decompression to relieve brainstem compression, according to GeneReviews via the NCBI Bookshelf. Nearly all cases arise from spontaneous genetic mutations with no family history, and the disorder is estimated to occur in roughly 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 50,000 live births globally, according to MedlinePlus Genetics.
Amber Traxler said the family's ultimate goal is to spread awareness of thanatophoric dysplasia and give hope to other families facing the same diagnosis, per the CBS News account. Sarah's win puts that message in front of a national audience during the holiday season, as she prepares to travel to Hollywood as this year's titleholder.
A Growing Charity Tradition
The Toddler of the Year contest has raised more than $18.1 million for Toys for Tots since its inception, according to Colossal. This year's edition marks the second annual competition, following the inaugural 2025 contest won by a toddler named Domi, who also served as Junior Grand Marshal of the Hollywood Christmas Parade, according to PR Newswire.
For the Traxler family, the national spotlight offers something beyond the crown and the cash prize: a chance to spread awareness of thanatophoric dysplasia and give hope to other families facing the same diagnosis. Sarah continues to reach milestones, from eating by mouth to working toward her first steps.
