Stop doing things for your children, #DoItTogether

Every parent wants to shield their children from negative experiences, pain, or difficulties in life, especially in the past year when families faced new and unprecedented challenges. For parents of young children, doing things for them in their early years when they do not know or can’t yet do things for themselves is only natural, but as children grow up, parenting styles should naturally evolve with them. It is during these times when some parents can become overly controlling and develop an unhealthy involvement in their children’s lives.

What is overparenting?

According to a report conducted by Toluna in the Philippines, 7 out of 10 parents have the tendency to overparent their children, because parents don’t want their children to struggle and experience failure.* Overparenting happens when parents themselves undertake the things that have to be accomplished by their children, all in exchange of sparing the children from some difficulty or discomfort. In their minds, they are ensuring their child’s success, but they don’t realize that they are instead depriving their child of experiences that are necessary to teach important life skills in an ever-changing and increasingly challenging world.

Ultimately, parents want the best for their children, but in the desire to protect children from mistakes and failure, the heightened level of parental involvement leaves very little space for a child to grow and develop. The temptation to over-parent is even more prevalent today with distance learning, as parents have the tendency to step in and do their kids’ homework for them.

Children who experience this overprotective parenting style have been known to have a lower rate of coping skills and a large sense of entitlement. The lack of real world skills may be present when they expect everything to be done for them, and when they don’t know how to handle obstacles that come their way.

The #DoItTogether Movement

Lady’s Choice, a trusted Unilever Dressings brand, believes in an emerging parenting philosophy called Collaborative Parenting. This approach involves more communication and inclusivity in making family decisions, gives children the space to become more independent, confident, and more empowered to be the best they can ever be.

In an effort to champion Collaborative Parenting, the #DoItTogether Movement has recently been launched by Lady’s Choice. The movement encourages parents to nurture co-creation moments with their kid to bring out their children’s best. Let’s set the table together or We can make sandwiches for merienda are small yet meaningful collaborative efforts versus a parent’s Sit down, I will set the table or Let me tie your shoes for you. Lady’s Choice believes that by doing simple day-to-day activities together with your children, instead of doing things for them, parents can help their kids become more resilient and successful in the future. This is when easy things like making a sandwich together doesn’t just mean making a sandwich. With your guidance, it becomes their model for taking on small challenges which become larger and more complicated in the future.

Practicing decision making is also valuable in collaborative efforts. Which toy is worth buying or keeping? Involve them in the decision making while being their guide through details that can teach them the value of money or possessions. Also, show them the consequences of these decisions. By giving them a clear picture of how things work, no matter how small, they learn to be future critical thinkers and smart decision-makers.

With over 60 years of being loved by moms and dads, Lady’s Choice has a heritage of transforming easy-to-make food with our children. The brand believes that Lady’s Choice is mom and dad’s best choice at making unforgettable moments with her children more enriching than ever, nurturing moments of togetherness that will be with our children until they grow older.

“At Unilever, we believe that brands with purpose grow and that we can use our scale for good. By nurturing moments of co-creation, Lady’s Choice is in a prime position to help parents raise children to be the best that they could be,” shared Marjorie Chan, Unilever Philippines, Lady’s Choice Brand Manager.

Today, Lady’s Choice has launched a new film called ‘Letter’ to raise awareness on the negative effects of overparenting your children.

New Co-Creation Activities for families

As Lady’s Choice moves forward with its purpose to nurture co-creation, the brand has partnered with Michelle Tambunting, a child development specialist, to make Co-Creation Activities, simple day-to-day activities that parents and kids can do together to transform overparenting triggers to co-creation moments. Each Co-Creation Activity that you take is supplemented with a 2-minute video guide.

For every completed activity, you gain 2 memory stars. When you collect 10 memory stars, you can get a chance to earn P50 worth of rewards.

The Co-Creation Activities were designed based on the 5 S.P.A.C.E. pillars that are key in nurturing Collaborative Parenting – Self-Sufficiency, Positivity, Adaptability, Connection and Empathy. To do the Co-Creation Activities, you can visit bit.ly/lcdoittogether

#DoItTogether Hub: A New Resource Hub for Collaborative Parenting

Lady's Choice has also launched the #DoItTogether Hub, where you can access informative videos, articles, recipes, workshops, and webinars to provide resources/ materials to nurture Collaborative Parenting.

Unilever’s Purposeful Brands

With the launch of the #DoItTogether movement, Unilever adds Lady’s Choice to its portfolio of purposeful brands that are set to be a force for good, powered by purpose and innovation.    
These purposeful brands communicate a strong social purpose or environmental, with products that contribute to achieving the company’s ambition to improve the health of the planet, contribute to a fairer, more socially inclusive world, win with differentiated science and technology, and improve people’s health, confidence and wellbeing.

While all of Unilever's brands are on a journey towards sustainability, purposeful brands, like Lady’s Choice, are among those that are treading ahead.

Source:

*(2020). Report on Understanding Parenting Habit. Commissioned market research for Unilever.