Do you want to make your child smart?
“ ke tapai ko bachaa lai chalakh banauna chahanu hunchh? in Nepali.
This was the title of my TikTok video that was a massive hit and received more than 1 million views in a few weeks' time.
The first TikTok video I posted was on August 1st, 2022 on the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week. I kept posting awareness videos with breastfeeding tips every day for the first week but the response was lukewarm. Breastfeeding is not as easy as it seems but people take it for granted. Almost every mother faces some problem during breastfeeding but only a few come for help. Knowingly, unknowingly’ willingly unwillingly, they come under the trap of a big market of artificial milk and bottles, and teats.
Being an advocate for a newborn babies, we are fighting for the rights of each baby to be exclusively breastfed for 6 months whether the baby belongs to an affluent or under priviledged family. Evidence has shown that exclusively breastfeeding and maternal education are the key protective factors for any child’s optimal cognitive development. For a country like ours where our children are not able to reach the optimal level, one way to help them is to establish breastfeeding. Many may not know but the simple act of breastfeeding help them fight many infections, have better academic performances, and have good earnings in adult life. There are many other hidden but massive benefits of breastfeeding. But unfortunately, the exclusively breastfeeding rate in our country is low.
Though there is ongoing training for healthcare professionals on breastfeeding, more is needed for 7 lakh new mothers a year. The conventional way of helping mothers at hospitals is helping only a handful of mothers. In that context, what can be the role of a digital platform? Will it be helpful for new mothers? Will digital platforms help them to latch their babies properly on their breasts or will they help them with the storage of breast milk when they have to leave the baby at home?
Unless and until we give it a try, how can we know? It may be very helpful for mothers. Thus, I started my search and found that Tik Tok is gaining popularity in Nepal with the exponential rise of its members. It had increased by almost 70 % in recent years. The users are primarily young people and Tik Tok penetration is at the grass root level. Oh No. I can’t be on TikTok. This was my first reaction to myself. When I think of TikTok, the weird dance moves of “kala chasma” by a Norwegian dance group pop into my mind. I cannot be like that. A doctor cannnot be on TikTok. But I know it might be the better way to disseminate the information. Finally, I gathered all the courage and made my first TikTok video. The video was on how breastfeeding helps to reduce obesity after delivery. I hardly got 300 views in 2 weeks. But I kept on posting one video every day from August 1 till the 7th on the occasion of breastfeeding week. The response was poor. I was discouraged but I kept on posting one video every week. But the response was the same.
One day, a mother brought her 14-month-old son for a check-up. He was not sleeping and he is on his mobile all the time, even during sleep. He would wake up in the middle of the night and look for his mobile. If he could not find it then there would be inconsolable tantrums all night. This child was falling behind. I felt extremely sad. This kind of story is just a tip of the iceberg. There are many children like him all around. At that moment, I thought I should act. Immediately after they left, I made the TikTok video with the above title “ Do you want to make your child smart?” This video was on awareness for parents of screen time ( mobile, television, tablet) for children.
I posted the video from the hospital and went home. I was not expecting many views. But to my surprise, in 2 hours' time, there were 30K views. I could not believe it. I was shaking, my heart was beating fast and pumping hard. My husband and I kept checking, and each hour viewers were increasing exponentially. People started to share my video on their Facebook and Instagram pages as well. Along with increasing number of views, I started to have increased number of followers as well. This video turned out to be the turning point and and my other videos on breastfeeding also started to get increased views with many comments and questions.
Finally, I could take deep breath and I feel ecstatic as the reason behind my TikTok is taking shape. Many new parents commented that my videos are helpful. They even committed themselves to exclusively breast feed for 6 months. In one of the videos, I have challenged parents to read books with their young children ( not common in Nepali culture) and this has created another ripple of awareness on shared book reading.
What I learned from this endeavor is
1. If you want to be with people , be one like them
3. Listen to your heart and do what your conscience tells you. Be genuine and sincere in whatever you do.
Since then, whenever I post a video I get more than 2 lakh views within 24 hours. This is a challenge for me to continue this journey with good, simple and helpful content all the time.
Many asked how much did I earn?
Yes, I earned a lot. A lot of well-wishers.
