Babies compete for fitness award

To create awareness about babies' health, the Rotary Club of Mumbai, Mulund, is organising a Healthy Baby Competition

Babies compete for fitness award

To create awareness about babies' health, the Rotary Club of Mumbai, Mulund, is organising a Healthy Baby Competition

Like most schools on Sundays, Purandare School in Mulund (West), will have no classes today. While the school will be shut for students, there will be hundreds of babies milling around campus. All of them will be participating in a competition to decide who among them is the healthiest.u00a0

Two year-old Stuti Thakker is a participant in the contest.

Organised by the Rotary Club of Mumbai, Mulund, Healthy Baby Competition is open to newborn babies and those upto the age of four. Till Saturday, forms for 320 babies had already been filled.

The baby that wins the competition will get an opportunity to feature in TV and print commercials. Other babies with the 'best healthy hair' and 'most beautiful eyes' will also be awarded.

Shailesh Parekh, co-chairman of this project, explains how the winner will be chosen. "There will be a medical check up and doctors will examine every baby. The one who is the healthiest will win." Babies will be checked on the quality of their hair, cleanliness, eating habits and whether they have been administered all necessary injections.

"The reason behind the competition is to create awareness among parents that they need to keep their babies healthy and active," he says.

The competition itself is not new. It's in its 17th year. And while this year, the theme of the competition is 'Jungle', last year it was 'Disney'. With pictures of various animals and the like, the school will be made to look like a jungle.

And while the babies themselves might not be aware of what they are up against, parents certainly are. Shrinik Shah's son Krishit Shah is, in fact, participating in the competition for the second time. He says, "It's a great experience for us and the doctors treat us very kindly."

Preeti Thakker, a resident of Mulund, whose son had participated in 1999, is now back in the fray. This time, her two-year-old daughter Stuti Thakker is competing. "This competition doesn't think motu (being fat) is healthy. But they check everything from fitness to eating habits," she says.

Manish Udeshi, whose 11-month-old son Rudra M Udeshi is participating, says, "It's a great feeling to be sitting there with our children. The ambience is almost like that of a film award ceremony!"