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Motherhood comes with a lot of joy. It also comes with its fair share of responsibilities: to take care of your children’s well-being, to raise them as good human beings and to make sure that external dangers do not reach them. Mothers also face additional pressure from society and family to be almost superhuman when raising their children.
Momjunction partnered with All Out® to understand mothers’ priorities and concerns, their awareness of dangers like dengue mosquito lurking in their homes and their preparedness to take care of their children’s health. The survey, which received responses from mothers across the country, revealed some unexpected yet important findings.
Health topped the chart as the most important issue for mothers. When asked their biggest concern related to their children’s health, the most popular response (37 percent) was cold and flu. Results also revealed that mothers are focused on regularly feeding their children a healthy diet to protect their health.
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Surprisingly, dengue was low on the priority list for mothers with only 19 percent considering it to be the biggest threat to their children’s health – far lower than cold and flu. While almost all the mothers surveyed had heard about dengue and know that mosquito bites can cause the deadly disease, only three percent regularly use a mosquito repellent in their homes. And only a handful of mothers who participated in the survey actually take action to control mosquito breeding in areas frequented by their children outside of the home, such as school, hobby classes, etc.
While these stats may seem surprising, 53 percent of the mothers did admit the survey helped them gain better insight into their children’s wellbeing. This is a small victory but can go a long way in ensuring a dengue-free future for our children.
As mothers, society tells us we should know everything about ensuring the safety and health of our children. However, the reality may be that we don’t as there are many threats looming over the wellbeing of our children that we are trying to defend against. When life presents big battles like peer pressure and cyberbullying for your children to face, it can be difficult to direct your focus toward a mosquito that may or may not cause dengue. Even when you know that it is a potential threat to your children’s safety and future.
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However, we should take precautionary measures, such as making sure our homes are not a breeding ground for mosquitoes and using mosquito repellents at our homes to ensure our children are protected from deadly diseases like dengue.
It is okay for a mother to not give in to the societal pressure of knowing it all. But, at the same time, it is important for them to acknowledge #IDidntKnow/ #MujheSabNahiPata and share their knowledge and experience with other mothers for them to be better prepared for their children’s wellbeing. Especially against serious health threats like dengue.
