#WithMyChild campaign engages young parents across Turkmenistan

During July-August 2021, for one month, Instagram followers of UNICEF Turkmenistan took an active part in a digital campaign to showcase the importance of parenting and ask questions, specifically about activities and games parents play with their children. The campaign was designed to support UNICEF efforts to motivate young parents to spend more quality time with their children by playing different games and building a healthy and friendly environment for child development during the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Social media users were encouraged to upload photos and videos of their activities together with children to UNICEF’s Instagram page, which was a connecting hub for all participants. 65 social media users took part in the campaign from all over Turkmenistan. Fathers were also sharing posts and participating in the campaign that served as examples for other fathers to engage in early learning activities with children. 

“I was happy to share a video with my daughters where we dance and spend our time together in joy. Also, it was very interesting for me to see how other parents are involved in their children’s development,” says one of the participants of the campaign, a young mother of triples – Jennet.  

“Being a parent is one of the most important jobs in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic offered the opportunity to spend more time together with our children and engage in developmental activities. Devoting time to parenting is important to do regularly. We are happy and thankful to young parents and Instagram users across Turkmenistan for taking part in our campaign and opening doors to the magical world of children,” says Alexandru Nartea, Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Turkmenistan.   

This is the first of such a large-scale social media campaign conducted by UNICEF in Turkmenistan. The campaign lasted 27 days and Instagram engagement reach during this period increased by 60% compared to the previous month, which is an illustration of the active interaction of young parents with their children in home environment and virtual space in Turkmenistan.