Pledge #1: CELEBRATE! Celebrate Kangaroo Care

Take a moment to honor, celebrate, and raise awareness about how kangaroo care makes the world a nurturing place for our babies.

Event Ideas

There are many ways to celebrate kangaroo care. It all starts with you and what makes sense in your community or workplace. Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Sign up

To help raise awareness of kangaroo care. We will update as we receive pledges to see who is celebrating Kangaroo Care Awareness Day on May 15th. Invite others to sign it too and let’s fill the map!

Click here to Sign up for the Day

2. Gather colleagues together for coffee or tea

Take 10 minutes to discuss all of the ways kangaroo care has improved the care of a baby, how it made a better workplace or improved someone’s quality of life. Reflecting on our accomplishments in kangaroo care is a great way to remind yourself why we celebrate it.

3. Organize a coffee break, breakfast, lunch, or dinner

Celebrate the achievements of your colleagues and families in kangaroo care during breakfast, cookie break, lunch or dinner on May 15th, the 6th International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day.

Make cookies in shapes of kangaroos or the letter “K”, have tent-cards with facts about kangaroo care, give stickers to parents and staff that support kangaroo care, etc.  Take pictures/videos and share in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and tag #kangaroocareday  #kangaroocare and leave comments below this post!

4. Secure a public proclamation

Provide information about the Kangaroo Care efforts to your local public official, and ask that official (mayor, governor, other) for a resolution recognizing May 15th as a day that celebrates the contributions made by kangaroo care.

5. Share kangaroo care with others

Do you know someone working on an interesting or exciting project about kangaroo care?   Contact your local news stations and ask them to do a segment about your efforts in providing better care for babies and parents.

Can you share a anecdote, lesson learned, tips, suggestions?

6. Keep track

It is important to know how many hours a baby is kangarooed a day (“no less than one hour and no more than 24 hours a day”.)

7. Create a public display

An exhibit at a lobby wall, library, museum or other public place is an engaging way to celebrate. Pick one or two local kangaroo families and showcase them through colorful pictures and short descriptions, or make a wall/window of kangaroo photos.

Here are pages with logos that you can print without modifying them.  Here are some ideas:

• Print them in different color paper (one color for moms, one for dads, one for nurses, one for therapists, etc.) and give one to parents and staff for each hour of kangaroo that they do and write their name,  tape them on a designated wall, a window, or simply around the baby’s bed, etc.  You will see the space fill up with everyone’s effort.

 8. Recognize an individual

Does your organization host an awards program?  Nominate a colleague, volunteer, or family who is doing good work in Kangaroo Care

9.  Here are other ideas on how to celebrate Kangaroo Care (KC)

• Kick-off celebration

• Public announcement

• Teach at bedside and teach staff

• Kangaroo or K cookies

• Letter for media and public

• Encourage and educate about the benefits of Kangaroo Care and breastfeeding

• Signs or cards on tables/bed with facts or tips of KC

• Facebook photo sharing at www.facebook.com/kangaroomothercare

• Social Media: #kangaroocare #kangaroocareday 

• Pamphlets

• Countdown to May 15

• Goodie basket to pick goodies after KC

• Make one scrapbook page with photos of KC

• Posters with photos/facts

• Provide frames for photos in KC

• Quiz about Kangaroo Care and prize for all right answers

• Provide water and energy bar to parents during the KC session

• Staff wears a “ask me about kangaroo care” sticker on the name badge

• Have KC related questions for parents/staff and give incentive if they give the correct answer

• Organic Soaps to prepare the skin for Kangaroo Care

• Contest of the longest duration/frequency in Kangaroo Care

• Give stickers or chocolates to everyone entering the Unit that day

• Talk about the safety risks of Kangaroo Care and the ways to mitigate the risks

• Provide soaps for parents to use to prepare their skin for kangaroo care

• Staff wears Kangaroo Costumes

• Volunteers make kangaroo care tags for parents to wear

• Buttons of the Kangaroo Care logo or hospital logo

However you decide to celebrate, make sure to share in Facebook,Twitter, Instagram and tag #kangaroocareday  #kangaroocare