I was watching an Indian franchise of the popular British reality show 'Celebrity Wife Swap', called 'Maa Exchange', deeply involved in armchair judgements about how two women ran their respective houses. And isn't it always strangely gratifying to declare someone a bad parent, wife or housekeeper from the comfort of your couch? Oh well, that warrants another post by itself!
So, while in one such musing about parenting (the woman gave a two year old a fizzy drink and a bar of chocolate, for God's sake!) that carried on into the commercial break, I saw a typical 'informative' advert (read iffy production quality) that had to be for a govt. Ministry. But the first visual was about breastfeeding, and motherhood makes me take notice of any such material these days. The spot pushed breastfeeding, the importance of a varied diet for toddlers. It was the kind of information that you would pass off as common knowledge usually, if you sat through it at all. And although I suspect it was not really aimed at mommies who run to google 'baby common cold remedy', it was good to see that spot at primetime on an unashamedly commercial channel. But the more I saw it, the more I realised, if I had come across this while expecting little R, I might have better appreciated its value. And this coming from an internet search junkie.
Putting myself in the shoes of to-be or new mothers from the real audience, I could see how useful that spot might really be to a woman in the interiors, say, whose main source of information about babies is her mother-in-law, or her doctor. Would it not feel that much more empowering to know how to care for your baby better? I'm sure it would help counter well-meaning relatives who suggest giving the child roti, ghee and sugar if he refuses veggies or dal! Even if I scoff at the production values of the spot, it condensed the exact same information that I might have discussed/ searched a trillion times about what to feed R and when.
A cursory search (didn't I already mention I'm a Google junkie?) showed me that the Food and Nutrition Board had not only an online presence with nutritional information, but campaigns across communication channels. I personally think it's commendable. If awareness is what it takes to encourage and instill healthy eating habits, they have started on the path.
But given all this, why is it still that India ranks 25th out of 33 nations in child feeding practices? Surely no mother would be found lacking in the will to give her baby the best she can? Is it a lack of awareness despite these efforts? Or a lack policy and financial support that leads to high infant mortality?
In any case, I hope this current awareness campaign reaches its intended audience and helps not only mothers, but fathers and families to give their babies a healthy start in life. It certainly made me think back on what I fed little R today - did he get his rainbow veggies?
p.s. he did get his veggies..... and his fruit and grains! ;)
So, while in one such musing about parenting (the woman gave a two year old a fizzy drink and a bar of chocolate, for God's sake!) that carried on into the commercial break, I saw a typical 'informative' advert (read iffy production quality) that had to be for a govt. Ministry. But the first visual was about breastfeeding, and motherhood makes me take notice of any such material these days. The spot pushed breastfeeding, the importance of a varied diet for toddlers. It was the kind of information that you would pass off as common knowledge usually, if you sat through it at all. And although I suspect it was not really aimed at mommies who run to google 'baby common cold remedy', it was good to see that spot at primetime on an unashamedly commercial channel. But the more I saw it, the more I realised, if I had come across this while expecting little R, I might have better appreciated its value. And this coming from an internet search junkie.
Putting myself in the shoes of to-be or new mothers from the real audience, I could see how useful that spot might really be to a woman in the interiors, say, whose main source of information about babies is her mother-in-law, or her doctor. Would it not feel that much more empowering to know how to care for your baby better? I'm sure it would help counter well-meaning relatives who suggest giving the child roti, ghee and sugar if he refuses veggies or dal! Even if I scoff at the production values of the spot, it condensed the exact same information that I might have discussed/ searched a trillion times about what to feed R and when.
A cursory search (didn't I already mention I'm a Google junkie?) showed me that the Food and Nutrition Board had not only an online presence with nutritional information, but campaigns across communication channels. I personally think it's commendable. If awareness is what it takes to encourage and instill healthy eating habits, they have started on the path.
But given all this, why is it still that India ranks 25th out of 33 nations in child feeding practices? Surely no mother would be found lacking in the will to give her baby the best she can? Is it a lack of awareness despite these efforts? Or a lack policy and financial support that leads to high infant mortality?
In any case, I hope this current awareness campaign reaches its intended audience and helps not only mothers, but fathers and families to give their babies a healthy start in life. It certainly made me think back on what I fed little R today - did he get his rainbow veggies?
p.s. he did get his veggies..... and his fruit and grains! ;)
