KARACHI:
If there is one thing all mothers felt at Pampers Baby Olympics held at Park Towers in the city, it’s the fact that there are hardly any recreational options out there for their kids. Karachi is not a city known for its gardens and amusement parks; plus widespread security issues have made it increasingly difficult to provide leisure activities for young ones.
“I usually take my son to Kids Club,” said Aamna, mother of 13-month-old Mikail. “My husband doesn’t even know I’m here at Park Towers; this area is not safe anymore,” she added as her son crawled all over the cushioned race mat laid out in the centre of the mall. Another young mother, whose son participated in the races, expressed concern over the same issue. “What do kids do if they don’t go to school?” questioned Fayezah. “We come here once a week to take the kids to the rides on Park Towers’ top floor but that’s about it with their outdoors.”
Given that the event was centred on babies and kids that still fall within the diaper wearing age, the gaming area had age appropriate activities such as a small jumping arena, racing cars and a racing track in the centre replete with a winning podium and a picture booth on the side. It was commendable to note that games were designed in a way to ensure that these toddlers do not get hurt in the process. The balloons that were used to adorn the place, for instance, were hung high out of reach, and changing stations were installed.
“Pampers is all about baby development and learning from babies,” explained Hira Modan, from the Pampers team. “We want parents to see how active their kids are with a comfortable diaper. We have installed changing stations to encourage parents to switch to our new product and experience the difference in their child’s behaviour.” For a young, female Brand Manager like Modan, the whole experience of working with babies was memorable. “It’s so cute to see the kids in action, even though it’s difficult to organise them. It is pleasing to see little victories, like a baby run around on his own here,” added Modan.
By the looks of it, the women who brought their kids to the activity were all young and educated mothers, who understood the importance of quality playtime. “My son has never been to school, so he does not understand the concept of a race,” said Madiha Asghar, whose son Ali, won one of the races and was thrilled with his little book set prize. “The event is colourful and fun and even though it wasn’t outdoors, it tried to recreate the fun that one experiences in an outdoor activity,” she added. Sonia Ahmed, a mother at the event, seconded that, “This is something different and unexpected in Karachi and fun for the kids. There are not many options for kids here and this activity reminds me of the kind of promotions that are held in the US.”
Baby Olympics is running through July 29 to 31 at Park Towers.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2011.
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in a dangerouse city like karachi there is no "safe" place for a foreigner like myself.i love the events organised by pampers and so does my 6 months old.we had such a lovely time saturday at park towers.there is truely no place where you can take your kids, especially infants.my baby was so exited seeing so many babies.