Launch of Grow Right Campaign to help parents achieve healthy growth in toddlers

Mumbai: Parents across the country agree that raising a toddler is no child’s play. Childhood is a period of rapid growth and development and is a critical phase which lays the foundation for markers of a healthy adult life4. Recognising the continual concerns parents have when it comes to the growth of their children, Abbott has launched Grow Right - a new initiative in India focused on supporting parents and helping children grow to their full potential.

As a part of the Grow Right initiative, Abbott partnered with leading parenting content platform, Momspresso to understand moms’ concerns and establish a guild of experts to create a comprehensive set of guidelines for right growth – the Grow Right Charter. The Grow Right guild is comprised of experts in childcare paediatrics, nutrition and behavioural science including noted paediatrician Dr Samir Dalwai, renowned nutritionists Dr Eileen Canday and Dr Dharini Krishnan and child specialist Dr Mukesh Sanklecha.

Helping Moms Win at Nutrition and Toddler Growth

The Survey revealed a staggering nine out of 10 toddler moms across India have concerns about raising their child. While more than 60 per cent of moms cited nutritional intake and physical growth as their top concerns, more than 50 per cent moms are also expressing their concerns over mental growth and social skills development of their toddlers.

Addressing parental concerns around toddler growth, the Grow Right Charter defines Right Growth as a combination of physical, cognitive and mental progress that should be observed carefully and holistically during the foundational years of childhood. While science offers solutions and rational routes to growth, the Charter guidelines recognise that a child’s growth journey is an emotional one, and it can be tough for parents.

Grow Right Charter Guidelines

• Right Nutrition guidelines will help parents better manage mealtimes and ensure a complete and balanced diet for their toddlers.
• Right Play addresses the growing concern among parents about unchecked screen-time and inadequate playtime by defining appropriate ways to creatively engage with toddlers.
• Right Nurture guidelines are designed to assist in evolving behavioural trends in response to increasingly dynamic influences a toddler faces in today’s digitized world.
• Right Impact guidelines will help toddler parents identify and manage red flags in key growth and development markers.

“Abbott is committed to solving nutrition problems across all age groups”, Vikash Prasad, Managing Director & General Manager at Abbott’s nutrition business in India at today’s unveiling of the Grow Right initiative. “By bringing together this guild of experts, we aim to connect parents and caregivers to a multidisciplinary group who can support them in their goals to provide healthy growth for their children. We recognise that ensuring the health and growth of the next generation is truly a challenge that healthcare professionals, parents and caregivers must come together to address.”

“During early childhood, the brain develops rapidly and is particularly sensitive to the external environment”, said Dr Dharini Krishnan. It is alarming to see that most Indian children are not meeting the recommended levels of physical activity. Through the charter, our aim is to help parents find effective and creative ways to engage with their toddlers.”

“Problems with feeding may lead to significant negative nutritional, developmental and psychological issues in toddlers”, said Dr Mukesh Sanklecha. Early recognition and management is the key to addressing this concern. Our core aim is to ease the burden off moms’ shoulder and empower her with the right information.”

Speaking on the importance of right nurture, noted paediatrician Dr Samir Dalwai, added, “Children often tend to face psychological difficulties including behavioural problems

“During their foundational years, children may face behavioural problems, which may be overlooked due to a general lack of awareness on identifying and tackling issues”, said Dr Samir Dalwai. “If unaddressed, this can have a negative effect on the overall growth and long term feeding habits of children. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work closely with my esteemed colleagues to help ease parents’ anxieties about providing the right nurture and care as their child grows.”

“Parents are often inundated with information on growth and development for their kids and it is important to understand global benchmarks such as WHO’s growth charts to assess children’s growth”, said Lara Dutta who was at the Grow Right launch event today in Mumbai. “I am confident that the Grow Right charter, curated by an expert guild, is a valuable parenting resource and I am glad to be a part of the initiative.”