Research by pre-school brand Play-Doh reveals parents are under more pressure than ever before to be perfect, with social media the main culprit.
Pre-school brand Play-Doh has launched its first ever book for parents, Notes on Messy Parenting, as part of a new campaign seeking to celebrate the honest, unspoken truths about parenting.
As a brand that embraces mess and dislikes instructions, the new Parenting is Messy campaign comes in direct response to research that has revealed that 67% of parents feel an overwhelming pressure to be a perfect parent, with 41% stating they’d received unsolicited or unrequested parenting advice from others.
A one-off event, organised by Play-Doh from Hasbro, in London on Saturday,1st October, will see The House of Messy Parenting promise a guilt free zone to embrace messy parenting, providing a chance for parents to smile at the daily dramas and inevitable ball drops while the kids get creative with some Play-Doh messy play. Attendees will leave with a physical copy of Notes on Messy Parenting, as well as Play-Doh products for the kids.
In the research, 65% of parents said they feel overwhelmed and bombarded by the amount of advice and parenting ideals they receive. Notes on Messy Parenting, which is available to view and download free, features open, honest and often hilarious anecdotes from its 13 contributors.
These include TV personality and presenter Ferne McCann, Steps singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins, presenter and podcast host Vogue Williams, TV presenter and Paralympian medallist Ade Adepitan, and journalist, author and blogger Anna Whitehouse.
The Play-Doh brand is also encouraging parents across the UK to submit their own messy parenting stories and hang-ups online, in exchange for prizes for both kids and adults. This can be done via the campaign website or by using the #PlayDohMessyParenting hashtag across social media.
Nicola Fox-Haggarty, commercial director at Hasbro UK and Ireland, said: ‘As a brand that embraces mess and imagination without instructions, Parenting is Messy is all about celebrating the less polished moments in people’s lives as parents. Our Play-Doh products aim to fuel the kind of creative thinking that can help us all inspire a better future, and encouraging learning, creating and imagining freely without judgment is at the heart of this campaign.”
Notes on Messy Parenting is available now to read and download, free, at www.playdohmessyparenting.com where tickets for the House of Messy Parenting, the Play-Doh event, can be booked at www.playdohmessyparenting.com
