Education for Mothers

I'm Barry Petersen, and this Letter From Asia comes from Beijing.

We want to talk about babies…I means who doesn't love a baby. But this story is not about who, but HOW to love a baby. One American entrepreneur can tell us…because he's already telling thousands of Chinese mothers just that.

Enter Matthew Estes, who founded a company called Baby Care…ready with everything from pre-natal vitamins to post-partum toys.

"In China, a lot of things are available. It's the education of the parents to know what's the right toy for my child at the right time," Estes said.

Tens of thousands of mothers now pour into Baby Care storefronts across 16 Chinese cities...from the first days of pregnancy right through the terrible twos and beyond...here for everything from a doctor's checkup to classes on how to help a child's development.

One mother told me, "I think that my baby is more active and happier than babies who haven't taken these classes."

But there is something else parents get here - a confidence in THEIR ability to cope.

Another mother said, "I'm home alone with my child and I want to learn new ways to play with him."

And in a country with a government policy allowing only one child per family, that means only one chance to get it right...with the whole family watching.

"Historically, through thousands of years in Chinese culture, it's very much one that's always investing in the next generation for families," Estes said. "There's a lotta love there. If you've got four grandparents, two parents – as they say, six pockets for one mouth, all doting on this one child."

Estes may be a good businessman seeing a need, filling it. But it took his own baby—-Brooke-- to round out his resume.

For a long time Estes was a dad who didn't have a baby, telling other people what to do. Now he's a dad who has a baby. Does it help?

"It helps a lot," said Estes.

So thanks to Matthew and to Brooke, a lot more Chinese mothers know a lot more about the how of raising a child. But, of course, what can never be taught is still the best part...how much a parent can love a baby and how much a baby can love right back.
by Barry Petersen