Think Tank

The difference of one word from the mother and baby room to the nursery reflects the progress of concepts

2025-08-22   

Recently, some netizens have noticed that shopping malls in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places have renovated their childcare facilities. Some have upgraded their "mother and baby rooms" to "baby rooms", dividing them into independent breastfeeding areas and open nursing areas, while others have added "father and baby rooms" according to customer needs, solving the problem of parents taking their children on trips. This change may seem subtle, but it reflects a shift in society's understanding of the division of labor in family parenting. In the past, the mother and baby room was often assumed to be the exclusive space for mothers, and even if fathers wanted to participate in caregiving work, they may be seen as "outsiders" and rejected. Many parenting facilities in public places, such as diaper stations, are only installed in women's restrooms, excluding fathers from the parenting scene. In fact, fathers can also do a series of tasks such as preparing milk powder, bottle feeding, changing diapers, and comforting babies. The renaming of the "infant room" and the addition of the "father infant room" have broken down gender barriers in the parenting process. On the one hand, it breaks the inherent notion that 'parenting is a mother's duty', and on the other hand, it also recognizes and encourages fathers to participate in the parenting process. The removal of the "Men's Stop" sign in front of the nursery conveys the idea that men cannot and should not stop when it comes to parenting. In addition, this adjustment creates more conditions for fathers to participate in parenting, which helps to promote a more reasonable division of labor in the family. Some people believe that "mother and baby", "father baby", and "infant care" are just differences in names, so why bother with such trivial matters and go to great lengths. In fact, behind the one word change, it reflects the progress of modern parenting concepts, which is a call for "parents to share parenting responsibilities" and a recognition and emphasis on the implicit parenting efforts of countless families. It means that society has recognized the public nature of parenting, rather than simply categorizing it as a "maternal responsibility" or a "family private matter". We are delighted to discover that subtle changes are happening, which is a silent support from the whole society for fertility and nurturing, and also a necessary path to building a fertility friendly society. Of course, this innovation has just begun. At present, there is ongoing controversy surrounding the protection of breastfeeding privacy and whether facilities will be abused, and the shortage of parenting facilities in small and medium-sized cities and grassroots places has not been resolved. These all require and deserve more discussion and exploration. Starting from the renaming of a mother and baby room, what we see is not only a response to the needs of family parenting, but also a positive attempt to build a fertility friendly society. Looking forward to the future, such changes can be extended to more corners, allowing 'shared parenting' to move from a concept to a more universal reality. (New Society)

Edit:Luo yu Responsible editor:Wang er dong

Source:southcn.com

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