Fisher-Price hosted an event titled “Learning Revolutionised” hosted by
Dr. Deborah Weber, Director of Early Childhood Development at
Fisher-Price. Dr. Weber, who is based in Aurora, New York, came all the
way to Malaysia to speak with the media and discuss what goes into
raising well-rounded kids in a technologically advancing world.
From the moment they are born, children have a natural inclination
to explore the world around them. How do they do that? Largely through
play. If play is such a naturally occuring window through which kids see
the world, it follows that the kind of toys they play with will have a
large impact on the kind of play they get to participate in. This is the
topic that Fisher-Price○R set out to explore at their event titled
“Learning Revolutionised,” overseen by Dr. Deborah Weber, Director of
Early Childhood Development at Fisher-Price○R.
Educational
toy-maker, Fisher-Price○R has been at the forefront of developments in
toys since the company was formed in 1930. While the team of adults
there have proven to be wholly committed to developing toys that are
safe, durable, and high-quality - there is no better way to ensure those
toys will be fun than to ask the consumers themselves: children. This
is where Fisher-Price○R’s Play Lab comes in. The Play Lab research
facility puts observational research at the centre of its design
strategy. Over the years, it has seen more than 127,000 babies and
pre-school children and 1,700 parents through toy trials.
“The
ability to observe how children play has been instrumental in allowing
us to create toys that they love,” explained Dr. Weber. “Play Lab allows
us to determine the age-grade for our products - ensuring that
Fisher-Price○R is creating toys are both appropriate and enriching for
developing children.”
Dr. Weber discussed the development
chart that Fisher-Price○R uses to group their toys. She shared about
why it is important for parents to an age-appropriate play guide as play
can help facilitate their children’s growth. While the stages of
development are a good reference for parents, Dr. Weber stressed that it
cannot be taken at face value - that all children develop at their own
pace and reach milestones at different times.
This could
not have been a more timely reminder in our technologically advancing
world. It isn’t uncommon to see young children at a dinner table with a
smartphone or tablet propped in front of them while the adults at the
table chat or do the same. Gadgets are undeniably effective as devices
of distraction, but healthy parameters do need to be set. Dr. Weber
provided some useful tips that parents could apply in managing gadget
time for their kids: review content appropriateness, limits on gadget
time, and ensuring that there are periodical breaks between each
session.
On the topic of technological advancements, Dr.
Weber highlighted the growing importance of the STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) method in today’s early
childhood development. The STEM method puts an emphasis in active and
systematic thinking - sharpening critical thinking and problem solving
skills. It plays a large role in preparing children to build globally
competitive characters, ready to take on a wide range of technical and
creative careers in the future.
With the intention to
meet the growing need for an early STEM education, Fisher-Price○R
presents the Think & Learn line of toys that combines STEM methods
and technology-based learning systems. Dr. Weber demonstrated how one of
these toys, the Code-A-PillarTM, works to do exactly this. The toy
features 9 easy-to-connect segments that preschoolers can arrange and
rearrange to “tell” the toy how to move: forward, left, right, wiggle,
dance or even wait for a couple seconds before moving again. Kids start
the Code-a-pillarTM at point A and figure out how to get it to move to
destination point B through sequencing.
Dr. Weber
emphasised “Every parent wants to give their children the best possible
start in life. It is important that throughout the process, parents are
also involved in play time, witnessing their child’s early development
first hand. In a technologically changing world, it is becoming more
crucial for children to develop problem solving skills and what other
way to best develop this skill then through play! When kids are busy
playing, they are building more than preschool learning: they are
building the foundation to grow into big thinkers.”
With
Fisher-Price○R at the helm of a very exciting developments in play
time, parents can rest easy, knowing that their kids are in good hands.
For more information, check out their Facebook page [FisherPriceSEA] and website [fisher-price.com/sea].
L-R:
Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Sham Kasim (Past President of Malaysian Paediatric
Association and Former Secretary General of Asia Pacific Paediatric
Association), Dr Amir Hamzah Dato’ Abdul Latiff (President of Malaysian
Society of Allergy & Immunology), Ms Gladys Goh (Group General
Manager of Nippon Paint Malaysia Group), Puan Norsheila Abdullah
(President of Persatuan Pengasuh Berdaftar Malaysia (PPBM) and Ms
Eveleen Ling (President of Persatuan Tadika Malaysia)
Being mom of two boys, I am concern mom of my children's health. Glad to take time off to attend the Nippon Paint's event. Do you know that 20% of Malaysian children suffer from stress and anxiety due to stifling of play? This source based on independent studies.
Introduces Malaysia’s First Child Wellness Range: A series of child-friendly, functional coatings
Malaysia’s No. 1 coating solutions
provider, Nippon Paint Malaysia Group (“Nippon Paint”) officially
launched its Child Wellness Programme, an educational campaign aimed to
empower today’s discerning parents and key decision makers towards
creating uplifting environments for children, through various awareness
and educational initiatives related to children’s health and wellness.
The
Child Wellness Programme sees partnerships with national associations
such as the Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA), the Malaysian
Society of Allergy and Immunology (MSAI), Persatuan Pengasuh Berdaftar
Malaysia (PPBM) as well as Persatuan Tadika Malaysia (PTM), working
alongside medical practitioners and child care providers as key
influencers to provide simple steps and expert advises for today’s
discerning parents.
The Child Wellness Programme stems
from Nippon Paint’s introduction of Malaysia’s first Child Wellness
Range, a series of functional coatings that focuses on enabling clean
air, safe touch and creativity in 3 key growth milestones respectively –
infants, toddlers and children. Its paint solutions are water-based,
lead and mercury free with low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) as well
as Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC) emissions, which is safe for
the environment as well as indoor spaces.
The Child
Wellness Range leverages on the Active Carbon Technology which is
designed to absorb harmful formaldehyde from the air, converting them
into water vapour for cleaner air. Its range of solutions also contains
the Silver Ion Technology that are able to mitigate the growth of
viruses and bacteria from spreading through walls, effective against
Influenza A (H1N1) and Coxsackievirus A16, which causes Hand Foot and
Mouth Disease as well as other types of bacteria such as E. Coli, MRSA,
and Staphylococcus Aureus. The range also includes Anti-Stain
Technology,
allowing parents the ease of mind for their children to express creativity because stains can be easily cleaned.
Speaking
at the launch of the Child Wellness Programme, Gladys Goh, Group
General Manager of Nippon Paint Malaysia Group said, “Innovation has
always been in Nippon Paint’s DNA. In fact, we continuously listen to
our consumers’ changing needs and realised that there is an untapped
opportunity within the paint industry. That motivated us to develop a
child-friendly range of coatings that allows us to create a safer,
healthier indoor environment for young children. And while doing so, we
are also rolling out the Child Wellness Programme in collaboration with
various national associations to undertake awareness and education
programmes to reach out to parents, child care centres and kindergarten
owners and operators and the community in terms of provision of expert
advice and information for them to make informed decisions regarding
their children’s health and wellness.”
The launch event
was graced by Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Sham Kasim, Past President of Malaysian
Paediatric Association (MPA) and Former Secretary General of Asia
Pacific Paediatric Association (APPA); Dr Amir Hamzah Dato’ Abd Latiff,
President of Malaysian Society of Allergy & Immunology (MSAI); Ms
Norsheila Abdullah, President of Persatuan Pengasuh Berdaftar Malaysia
(PPBM) and Ms Eveleen Ling, President of Persatuan Tadika Malaysia
(PTM).
Speaking at a panel discussion session after the
official launch, Dr Amir Hamzah explained, "With easy access to
information via the internet, many parents today are equipped with their
own 'digital doctor', by surfing on various websites to check on their
children's symptoms and treatment options. However, this may result in
misdiagnosing as there are many symptoms that may appear similar to
various conditions. In addition to that, it may be challenging to verify
the authenticity or credibility of the information provided. Thus, the
Malaysian Society of Allergy and Immunology (MSAI) is pleased to
collaborate with Nippon Paint on the Child Wellness Programme to provide
expert advice to parents and key decision makers.”
Under
the Child Wellness Programme, the partnership with MPA will see
collaborative efforts in public outreach through seeding of expert and
educational content, engagements with medical experts as well as
roundtable sessions as provision of first line of advice to parents.
While
Nippon Paint is collaborating with MSAI to highlight key information to
raise awareness on indoor allergens in health-related issues via a web
series on Nippon Paint’s Facebook platform and other engagements such as
Facebook Live clinics, expert speaker series and expert roundtable
sessions.
As part of the Child Wellness Programme,
Nippon Paint will also play a vital role as an advisory panellist for
both PPBM and PTM, participating in training sessions, workshops to
educate child care providers, kindergarten operators on the importance
of indoor environment for children. Nippon Paint
will also provide advisory services on selection of colours and
kids-safe coatings from its Child Wellness Range to facilitate a
uplifting and safer indoor environment for children.
Babies and children spend more time indoors and breathe up to three times as much air compared to adults (due to their developing respiratory system), making them the likeliest victims of formaldehyde. Fact based on American Academy of Family Physicians.
Child Wellness Programme
Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA)
Outreach programmes through:
· Positive Parenting Editorial Support
· Expert content from medical
experts
· Expert roundtable sessions
Malaysian Society of Allergy and Immunology (MSAI)
To create public awareness about indoor allergens through: ·
Web
Series
· Facebook Live Clinics
· Expert Speaker Series
· Expert
Roundtable Sessions
Malaysian Association of Kindergartens (PTM) Persatuan Pengasuh Berdaftar Malaysia (PPBM)
· Expert Advisory Services on colours recommendations and
functionality of coatings that promotes a healthier environment for
children
· Education programme and talks about Child Wellness coatings
to childcare centres and kindergarten owners and operators
In
partnering with various associations on the Child Wellness Programme,
Goh concluded, “Indeed, it is alarming to know that Malaysians are still
at high risk for many health-related issues, especially amongst young
children. As a total coatings expert with 50 years of presence in
Malaysia, we have since grown in leaps and bounds and today we have come
a long way to be where we are today. Thus, our strategy is to provide
functional coatings that provides parents the peace of mind for safer
indoor environment for their children.”
According to
Malaysian Society of Allergy and Immunology, one out of three Malaysians
suffer from some form of allergy, children from parents with allergies
also stand a 50-80% chance of developing an allergy. Parents and child
care providers may lack relevant knowledge on the importance of the role
a conducive indoor environment plays for the development of children.
At
a young age, infants spend most of their time in the crib breathing in
twice the amount of air as compared to an adult. Thus, indoor air
quality should not be taken lightly as infants spend up to 8-20 hours a
day indoors.
As babies continue to grow and make their
way into toddlerhood, children at this age develop the sense of
curiosity in which, crawling, flipping over, touch, bite, feel would
come into place. The potential of indoor health risks then increases as
children are now exposed to various surfaces such as walls and floors
that may contain viruses and bacteria.
Children below
the age of 5 are the most vulnerable to viruses and bacteria such as
HFMD. With diseases like HFMD and H1N1 that were endemic in Malaysia,
there is a need to seed out relevant information to educate parents and
child care providers on the importance of indoor environment as children
spend most of their time either in a day care centre, school or at
home.
Creativity through play is essential for the
child’s mental and physical development as it helps to enhance cognitive
skills as well as self-worth and self-esteem values. Safe indoor
environment should be a priority for all, however, parents and child
care providers should also look into ways to provide an uplifting,
conducive environment to encourage creativity. 20% of Malaysian children
suffer from stress and anxiety due to stifling of play as most parents
or caretakers provide restricted access to the type of play avoiding
some “forbidden” plays such as scribbling on walls.
Child Wellness Quick Facts:
88% of mothers admit they tend to overlook the wall as a medium for the transmission of viruses & bacteria
86% of mothers confess they do not clean the wall as often as the floor
80% of parents agree that their children touch the walls during play
76% reported that their child uses the wall as a support to learn how to walk
More than two thirds of parents agree the wall can be a medium for the spreading of viruses & bacteria.
Above is based on independent studies.
About Nippon Paint Malaysia Group
The
Nippon Paint Malaysia Group (“NPM Group”) is currently Malaysia’s No. 1
Total Coating Solutions provider, enjoying its market leadership
position since 2008. The NPM Group is part of the Nippon Paint Group,
which is currently Asia’s No. 1 coating manufacturer spanning 15
countries, built on a heritage of over 130 years dating back to 1881 in
Japan.
Established in 1967 as Nippon Paint (Malaysia)
Sdn. Bhd., the company has since grown in leaps and bounds, and today,
has emerged as a significant regional player within the coatings
industry with presence in countries such as Pakistan, the Philippines,
Bangladesh, Thailand, Iran and Indonesia.
The NPM Group
places strong emphasis in Research and Development (R&D) activities,
which remains a core priority to its success in product innovation. As a
global leader in coating technologies with a database of more than
10,000 paint formulations, the NPM Group prides itself in being a Total
Coating Solutions provider with a multi-segment portfolio of offerings
ranging from Architectural, Automotive, Industrial, Protective to Marine
coatings.
The Group has won consumer choice awards such
as the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Awards (2006-2017) and Putra Brand
Awards (2010-2016), as well as received industry accolades such as the
Best Company for Leadership in Paint Technology Asia by IAIR in 2014 and
Frost & Sullivan’s Paint & Coatings Company of The Year in
2011, the Paint Company of the Year 2016 and New Product Innovation
Leadership Award 2016. In its concerted effort to champion
sustainability towards a greener footprint, the Group has received the
Green Label Certification (by the Singapore Environment Council),
EcoLabelling Certification Licence (by SIRIM QAS International) and
several Green Excellence Awards by Frost & Sullivan.
For more information on Nippon Paint Malaysia:
Website: www.nipponpaint.com.my
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nipponpaintmalaysia
YouTube: www.youtube.com/NipponPaintMalaysia
Toll free no: 1-800-88-2663
