“You’ve left your baby alone with his dad and are travelling? Oh Wow! ”
These statements are accompanied with a look of utter shock and surprise. Often leaving me clueless while trying to figure out the appropriate response. Why is it so unbelievable to have a father take care of the baby?! If anything, my little one looks forward to this alone time with his papa. They go out on picnics, cycling, swimming and come up with crazy car games and have a blast! They have their own special equation and truly cherish this time together.
Watching Baby S grow into this confident toddler, has reaffirmed my belief that the involvement of both the mother and father is imperative to offer a fulfilling and holistic childhood. While I can spend hours reading books to him or creating fun sensory play activities with different elements such as paints and sand, I draw a complete blank when it comes to fun play ideas at the park or with his cars. Infact Baby S ends up getting frustrated with my non-existent skills at handling his remote controlled cars and tries to teach me how to drive the car without banging into every piece of furniture – a skill that he has learnt from his dad. So while I work on developing his creative side and his fine motor skills, my husband works on developing his gross motor skills and offers a productive outlet for Baby S’ high energy levels. Besides, having both parents around, taking care of all their needs, also helps babies feel more secure and this security translates into higher confidence levels during social interactions. I can confidently say that baby S has imbibed the best from both of us and we can’t be more proud of our little bundle of joy as he participates with equal enthusiasm in all his painting and craft activities as well as high energy sporting activities. Bringing the baby in the world is a decision we take together, similarly offering a holistic childhood to the baby requires equal commitment and participation by both the mum and dad.
I recently came across a brilliant video by Pampers as part of the It Takes 2 campaign, highlighting the role of the dad in a child’s development
It’s a brilliant depiction of all that I’ve shared above. Every little interaction with the dad during even the most mundane activities – bathing, eating, plays a huge role in developing a child’s cognitive and social skills. Dad is always the hero and everything that the dad does must be copied! Even though I’m a mother now, I constantly need both my mum and dad to help me navigate through different challenges in life and this bond and trust started developing much earlier in my childhood itself. So mums encourage this bond, reassure the dads when they are questioning their decisions, appreciate them for a job well done and avoid nagging them for rookie mistakes that you probably made yourself. Help them get over initial fears like diaper change by introducing more practical alternatives such as easy to pull pant style diapers – Pampers Premium Care Pants. They also have wetness Indicator that turns blue when the baby requires a change, to help avoid any messy leaks.
Share your Papa Baby Moments on Facebook with the Hasthtags #ItTakes2 and #Pampers, and get a chance to Win a Year’s Supply of Pampers Premium Care Pants.
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