Abbott launches 'Grow Right' campaign to support parents in the healthy growth of their kids

Raising a toddler is no child’s play. Childhood is a period of rapid growth and development and is a critical phase that lays the foundation for markers of a healthy adult life. Recognising the continued concerns of parents when it comes to the growth of their children, healthcare major 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 initiative, Abbott partnered with 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 comprises experts in paediatrics, nutrition and behavioural science, including paediatrician Dr. Samir Dalwai, 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 that a staggering nine out of 10 toddler moms across India have concerns about raising their child. While more than 60% of moms cited nutritional intake and physical growth as their top concerns, more than 50% moms are 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 evolving behavioural trends in response to increasingly dynamic influences a toddler faces in today’s digitised 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,” said 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 that 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 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 a mom’s shoulders and empower her with the right information.”

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

“During their foundational years, children may face behavioural problems that 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 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.”

“Momspresso has always been committed to supporting Indian mothers in their journey as a parent,'' said Vishal Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Momspresso. ''We are happy to have partnered with Abbott’s nutrition business in India to gain insight into mothers’ challenges that showed the need to address the evolving concerns around the holistic growth of their toddlers.”

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