mother's pride does not have any pride!

We got our daughter to take part in her first baby show, the much marketed and "acclaimed' Mother's Pride baby show, held on 22nd March, 2009. We went to the Galleria branch (Gurgaon). What a load of crap! Mother's Pride has completely lost it. They don't even have any regrets of chasing money like crazy, at the cost of little babies...here are my 2 cents of how bad Mother's Pride Baby Show is, and how they are taking unaware parents for a ride..
- The contact numbers so wonderfully advertised in all leading publications were never reachable hence the only option was to visit the premises and register for the show
- Once at the venue, everyone was stuffed in a basement hall and kids made to dance with some prizes being given...imagine how comfortable kids will be with 50 kids and 30 mothers all present on a small stage trying to dance
- This was followed by an "evaluation" round which took place on the 2nd floor. A 10 question list was to decide the most aware parents. I still do not know if 20 parents got the same max marks, then how will they decide?
- There were enough hints being given throughout the ordeal that parents should meet their counselors of mother's pride to know about the registration formalities
- The "doctor" checkup followed, and the medico only asked 4 questions to the parents, without really bothering to look at the kid even once. weird.
- Now comes the killer. The evaluation, which was supposed to determine the following: most active baby, sunniest smile, sparkling eyes, friendliest baby, most attractive baby, healthiest baby was all over in 15 seconds. A 20 something teacher, wearing 1 kilo of makeup, getting my child to play with blocks for 10 seconds, decides all of these categories? Give me a break, Mother's Pride.
- When i called up the next day to know the results, i was not surprised that my kid had not won in any category. Had read earlier too that those who register on the day are the ones who win the prizes. MP is taking everyone else for a ride. And one more thing, when i asked for the evaluation criteria, i was told by the attendant that "councilor" was one of the criteria!!
- Of the total 1.5 hours i wasted at mothers pride, 45 minutes were spent in the councilor room. Being shown an album which is a collection of 50 photos accumulated throughout the 1 year stay of the child. And guess how much they charge the parents for that? 7500/- :)
- I would have heard the councilor say at least 5 times that they are giving me a discount of 7000 bucks valid only if i register today at the show. And many do get fooled by this. The marketing hype they have created has resulted in many many gullible parents being fooled into submission, thinking that they are getting the best for their babies. But i beg to differ, mother's pride. You are simply a money minting machine, and you do not care about babies at all. There's a nice post here if you want to read more about how they are taking everyone for a ride.

IIPM has been ruining enough careers, thriving on the basis of marketing and PR alone. And enough has been said about it, with the gaurav sabnis saga. Now its mother's pride who has taken the cue, and is out to bombard us with marketing and PR to drive home the point that they're the best. And btw, they also get all records from MCD for all new-born babies in delhi. Wonder how? You'll get the answer if you read the post above.

There are many many better options. Shikshantra is a good school in gurgaon. Anand by career launcher shows very good promise due to their philosophy and so on. As long as a play school realizes they HAVE to care for the babies, rather than have making money as the sole objective, we will not see a repeat of what mother's pride is up to. More than the brand name, for a baby who is so young and impressionable, its better that parents follow these simple steps when evaluating a play school:

1. Look at distance from home as the 1st criteria
2. Ensure the teachers are well-qualified and loving enough to handle crying babies. A 20 something 12th pass cannot handle babies. It needs more maturity and love.
3. The school should ensure not more than 10-15 babies are handled by a single teacher
4. The books and toys/games should be adequate and fun, and do not necessarily have to be branded...mother's pride charges 4000/- for books claimed to be written by the parenting expert sudha gupta... :)
5. Meals should be hygienic and the helpers should be capable to keep the baby clean and fresh while the baby is at school

Trust me, everything else is just gimmick, and more of a means to give parents one more reason to do their own ego massage by proclaiming in society that their baby goes to mother's pride. A 2 year child does not understand brands or money or ego. The babies just need Love, not Pride. As a responsible parent, please ensure they get that adequately.