Harnessing the power of social media to help new parents

Published on 09-12-2022 at 09:50

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The Bernard van Leer Foundation, which works to improves a child’s early years, is promoting a new campaign aimed at supporting new parents through social media.

A message like ‘You’re doing a great job’ might sound simple but can mean a great deal for parents who might be struggling to cope, which is why the next phase of the Ode to Parents campaign is so important.

Last year saw the launch of the first phase of the Gezonde Generatie’s (Healthy Generation) Ode to Parents initiative, with a focus on celebrating parents of young children and lowering the threshold for giving and receiving help.

It was put together in response to research which showed that an overwhelming majority – some 91 per cent – of new parents find parenting hard, yet far fewer, around 67 per cent, preferring not to ask for help because they don’t want to be seen as a burden.

This new phase of the campaign is designed to unlock and fully utilise the various diverse social networks around new parents and parents-to-be, giving practical advice and ideas for how you can build the confidence of caregivers and make it easier for them to give their young children the support they need to thrive.

‘Ode to Parents’

It’s also part of wider project to raise awareness of how a baby’s first 1,000 days – from conception through to their second birthday – lay the foundations for later life, with babies relying on support from their caregivers, and caregivers in turn relying on their networks.

The BvLF is funding the campaign, alongside the Noaber Foundation and the Samenwerkende Gezondheidsfondsen (Collaborating Health Funds), and the Gezonde Generatie is a partnership of 24 collaborating health funds in the Netherlands. The aim is for Dutch youth to be the healthiest in the world by 2040.

Click here for more on the Gezonde Generatie and here for the Bernard van Leer Foundation.