This is a sponsored post for Pampers' #ItTakes2 Campaign and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com
On a crisp Thursday morning in
Bangalore, on November 17, 2016; I was invited to attend a Bloggers Meet
jointly organised by MyCity4Kids and P&G’s bestselling brand Pampers! The
occasion was the launch of Pampers’ new campaign #ItTakes2, highlighting the
importance of inclusive parenting and the role it plays in a baby’s holistic
development. With the thought at the heart of the campaign being - when it
takes two to make a baby; it should take, at the very least, two to raise one!
This was smething I could happily
relate to; and something I firmly believe in. In fact, I have already written
about how today’s ‘dads’ are very different from the dads
of even a generation earlier; how they are happy to be, rather prefer to
be “hands-on dads” and buddies to children, rather than a distant presence in
their lives. And that is why, I was extremely happy to attend a meet that
talked about the importance of the involvement of both the mother and the
father in baby chores and spending quality time with the baby in order to boost
the baby’s cognitive, social as well as emotional development.
Of course, I was also excited to meet
fellow Mommy Bloggers from Bangalore, whose blog posts I have read and
appreciated over time, but never had a personal interaction with them.
And so there I was, in the lobby of
this plush hotel, being escorted into the conference room where Shavet Jain,
Head – Blogger Community and Social Media and Ankita Choudary, Brand Solutions
Manager for the MyCity4Kids Team warmly welcomed us and introduced us to fellow
Mommy Bloggers as well as Lakshmi Datta Arun, our very own Bangalore Editor and
Mr. Asif Mohammed, co-founder, MyCity4Kids!
Soon, even as we bloggers were catching
up, the event was underway; with a representative from Pampers giving us a brief
history of the brand through some heart-warming AVs; and introducing the theme
#ItTakes2. The campaign, he said, had its basis in a survey conducted by AC
Nielsen in association with Pampers across India’s top metro cities, which
brought to light that these two important points:
- 97% moms believe that it takes two to raise a
happy, healthy baby
- 90% moms want their husbands to be more
involved in baby care
The campaign, is also said to be backed
by a survey commissioned by Pampers in association with POSOS, which highlights
that
- 83% dads want to help and be more involved in
baby care, but do not know how; and most importantly,
- A whopping 97% doctors believe that both
parents must be involved in baby care for baby’s optimum development!
We were then introduced to the esteemed
experts, Ms Aneesha Babani, a trained Clinical Psychologist and a certified Art
and Play Therapist, Dr. Debmita Dutta – MBBS, MD, a practicing clinical and a
Parenting and Wellness Consultant; as well as Maitabi Banerjee, our very own
Mommy Blogger from Namma Bengaluru, representing us parents in the discussion
which was curated by Ganesh Vancheeswaran, Author and Daddy Blogger (yes,
#ItTakes2, right?)
Right from the very beginning, the tone
of the discussion was very friendly and inclusive; with the experts speaking a
language that we parents could resonate with. The discussion touched on several
topics about and the advantages of inclusive parenting and how this helps in
raising a happy, healthy child, strengthening the bond between fathers and
their babies and also how it helps men evolve as ‘dads’ when they too share the
center-stage with mums in caring for their babies!
Speaking about the changing times, Ms
Aneesha Babani mentioned that there is more awareness today among dads, thanks
to the increasing reach of social media and otherwise more openness among
people to talk about our lives; and this is making more and more fathers feel
involved in raising their children. She also mentioned how the fathers’ own
conditioning plays a vital role in what kind of a father a man turns out to be
– “if he had an uninvolved, distant father himself, he feels he should
contribute more to raising his own children, or if he had an involved, friendly
father himself, he would be more open to the idea of spending time with his own
children.”
Dr. Debmita Dutta, approached the theme
from a very different perspective. She alluded to "the need of a father
to feel needed" and said that that can be one of the reasons a
father is more willing and wanting to be involved in raising his baby the right
way. She also mentioned that it was many times found that although many
parents, especially dads are well-informed in today’s day and age, they are
still scared that they would mess up and that could be one of the reasons not
many of them actually get so thoroughly involved.
Once the ball was thus set
rolling, the discussion then continued, touching on several topics. The
experts agreed that involved parents who worked as a team brought stability
to the marriage, enhanced emotional development of the baby and had long
lasting effects on the baby’s life – helping him/her understand, from a very
young age about how perspectives can be very different and yet, both could turn
out to be alright – different was not wrong – and eventually
help in raising a child who would be more excited facing the world as a grown
up, than being anxious. The panel was also unanimous on the thought that
children always notice and decode parental actions and the core memories that
are formed during this young age, even before the baby is able to talk; are
positive and encouraging ones when both mum and dad are involved in baby care
right from the start.
Before we knew it, it was time for
Q&A and a lot of questions came up, beginning with the environmental impact
of diapers in general; to how, despite so much awareness already created, there
was still need for more to be done. The representative from Pampers answered
the question about the environmental impact positively by saying that the
company was working on a self-sustaining mechanism where the company plans to
roll out machines across the country for the disposal of diapers that would
help in recycling them without harming the environment. While everyone
present agreed, that it was upon parents like us to create more awareness about
involved parenting – maybe women should not hesitate asking for help,
even if it is for a diaper change; and men shouldn’t hesitate getting their
hands dirty (literally)!
We would’ve loved to spend the whole
day there, discussing and contributing, but time was of the essence and soon it
was time to wrap up and head for the delicious lunch that awaited us, (not to
forget the P&G goodie bag)!
The biggest takeaway from the meet for
me, apart from getting to meet all these warm people I virtually work with, of
course; was that my belief and faith that a baby is not merely a mother’s
responsibility, but that of the mother and the father was
reinstated and I was able to congratulate myself that I had been in the right
all along!
My sincere thanks to MyCity4Kids for
inviting me for this meet and I wish all the very best to Pampers for the
#ItTakes2 campaign!
And as for MyCity4kids, more power to
you guys!
#ItTakes2
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