Making a splash

Gao Lin says she's having a hard time sleeping these days because she's so excited about her 14-month-old son winning a children's swimming contest.

"Maybe my son will be the next (Michael) Phelps in the future," says the proud mother, with her son's trophy in her hand.

However, Gao points out, the swim contest not only marked her boy's first championship, but also gave the 27-year-old mother some helpful child rearing advice.

The source of her excitement stems from the Huggies Baby-Swimming Contest, jointly sponsored by the China Youth Concern Committee (CYCC) and US-based Kimberly-Clark Co Ltd, a manufacturer of paper-based consumer products.

More than 130 babies, aged one to three, and their parents attended swimming contests in Beijing, Changchun, capital of Jilin province, Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, and Jinzhou, a city in Liaoning province, this year.

All of the children wore Huggies' swim diapers and swim float rings while enjoying games in the pool with their parents.

While infant and toddler swim training is relatively common in the Western world, it's new to China and the purpose was to both promote Kimberly-Clark baby products as well as a learning program called W&I - Water and Intelligence Kids Educating Method, according to Guo Jianguo, initiator of W&I and an early-education professor from CYCC.

W&I method

"It was a dilemma for me to decide whether or not we should attend the swim contest. Sometimes, swimming is also dangerous for adults," Gao recalls. She adds that she's been reading a lot of books about baby care methods for more than a year and a half.

That's where she learned about the W&I method and decided to take the plunge along with her son.

"A child's healthy growth is a goal for every parent so I decided to give the swim program a try," she says.

Based on 10 years of research by Guo, the swimming training method has been found to be an effective way to help promote newborn babies' physical and mental growth.

The buoyant, warm aquatic environment of a heated swimming pool is similar to that of a mother's womb, making it comfortable for the infants and toddlers to adjust, Guo tells China Business Weekly.

The swim programs also help parents foster a closer relationship with their new children, he says.

"All of this will influence a baby's overall development," Guo says, adding that W&I should be encouraged to fill the gap in infants' early education in China.

This year marks the second cooperation between the CYCC and Kimberly-Clark, to spread W&I Swim Training Method.

The swim training program is just a part of the cooperation between CYCC and Kimberly-Clark China.

Kimberly-Clark started operating the Huggies diapers business in China in 2004 and used the Huggies brand for not only baby products but for other infant and toddler nurturing programs such as music education and baby crawling contests.

"Our diaper products have a natural relationship with the country's baby boom," says Tong Mei, director of Kimberly-Clark's development and strategic projects in China.

As a professional infant caring products manufacturer with more than 30 years' history, Huggies has professional experience in fostering the best in baby care, Tong says. "As a growing business in China, it is also our social responsibility to share our experiences with local consumers and promote a healthier growth for Chinese children."

The child care programs in China is the best way to keep a closer relationship with Kimberly-Clark's consumers, the director tells China Business Weekly. "It is obvious that it can help contribute our business growth in the country."

In China, infants' early education is just at an early stage. But with the country's economic development and an improvement in people's living conditions have already created huge demand in not only good baby products, but also the professional baby education, according to Li Qimin, deputy secretary of the CYCC.

Thanks to the increasing concerns for caring babies in recent years, Li points out, more companies, like P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Nest's and Kimberly-Clark, are contributing their diversified products, technologies and their experiences to care for Chinese babies.

"It is a good starting point. But there is still a long way for us to go," Li adds. "Babies also hold a country's future."

(China Daily 10/27/2008 page8)