Media Release

Dubai, Feb 27: It was a fun day out for babies and families at the annual ‘Healthy Baby Contest and Exhibition’, the city’s largest family fun event held at Thumbay Hospital, here on Friday February 2016.

This year’s event saw the participation of more than 500 kids and close to 4000 visitors.

Prof Gita Ashok Raj, provost Gulf Medical University was the guest of honor of the event. Thumbay Moideen, founder president of Thumbay Group, Akbar Moideen Thumbay, vice president of the healthcare division of Thumbay Group and several other important dignitaries were also present.

The ‘Healthy Baby’ was selected on the basis of physical and mental growth, complete immunization, general appearance of the child, as well as the parents’ knowledge about childcare. More than 500 children, falling in five different age categories participated in the competition. The age categories were: 3 months to 1 year, 1 to 2 years, 2 to 3 years, 3 to 4 years and 4 to 5 years. There were also prizes for categories like curly hair, sparkling eyes, sunshine smile and chubby cheeks, in addition to ‘Healthy Baby’ prizes for each of the five age groups. The contest was judged by renowned pediatricians as well as experts from Thumbay Hospitals.

There were several fun activities for kids, such as winter snow play area, creative craft stations, children’s train ride, bouncy castles, toddlers’ play area, magic show, musical parade, meet and greet the prince and the princess etc. Kids also got the chance to show their dancing talent before the huge audience.

The ‘Healthy Baby Contest and Exhibition’ is an annual event intended to raise community awareness and to inculcate health and nutrition habits in children at an early age, for a healthy lifestyle. The contest promotes health consciousness among mothers regarding various factors affecting the health of children and detecting illness at early stages. The contest also provides parents the chance for a personal and friendly interaction with the renowned doctors of Thumbay Group’s hospitals. Judges speak to parents about parenting, growth-related issues of kids, immunization/vaccination etc.

“It is important for the parents to be aware of the child’s growth stages and understand his/her needs. We talk to parents and advise them on all these aspects as well as parenting. Parents need to know what is normal for their kids and what is not; they should be clear about when to worry,” said one of the contest judges. He added that this was especially important for first-time parents, who usually tend to be very anxious.

There was also an online voting photo contest for babies from 3 months to five years. Over 600 children participated in this category and the top ten winners based on highest votes were given special prizes at the event. The raffle draw for the family air ticket to Paris held at the event was won by Dhashvath Gunasekaran.

The event was supported by around 50 sponsors, such as KEF Holdings (platinum sponsor), HEALTH Magazine (media partner), Cool & Cool (hygiene partner), Humana, Julphar, The Kebab Shop, The Mob Truck, Nuralac, Zahrawi, Fujifilm, Boro Plus, Similac, PediaSure, Novalac Genio On Board, Novalac Genio 3 Plus, Blemil Plus, Wellcare, Wellbaby, Bar Tropical, Al Baker, Gelato Divino, Gulfdrug, Choithrams, Sun Maid, Quaker, Liptis Nutrition, Glenda, Vitane, Triangle, Al-Rehab Perfumes, Krispy Kreme, Joyalukkas, Seba Med, Masrouji Gulf, Sudocrem, Blends & Brews Coffee Shoppe, Nutri Plus Vita, Gulf Medical University, Thumbay Pharmacy, CareDirect, Heinz, Americana Cake, The Flower Shoppe, Thumbay Marketing & Distribution Company (TMDC), Thumbay Clinic, Body & Soul Health Club & Spa, Zo & Mo Opticals, Thumbay Foundation, Thumbay Medical & Dental Speciality Centre, The Terrace Restaurant, Thumbay Labs and Thumbay Builders.

List of prize winners:
3 months – 1 year: sunshine smile: – Buthaina Ahmed, chubby cheeks: – Noor Talha, sparkling eyes: – Reyansh, curly hair: – Olatomiwa, 3rd prize: – Mir Haroon Iqbal, 2nd prize: – Celeste Geuel Santos, 1st prize: – Aarav.

1 year – 2 years: sunshine smile: – Mohammed Shaiq Azlan Ali, chubby cheeks: – Nabeeha Hammad, sparkling eyes: – Sama Ahmad Adnan, curly hair: – Hibah Farhan, 3rd prize: – Doorva Trivedi, 2nd prize: – Riyon Rajesh, 1st prize: – Shanaya Srivastav.

2 years – 3 years: sunshine smile: – Shanaya Sooraj, chubby cheeks: Simrah Sharaz Umar Koya, sparkling eyes: – Tresa Rose, curly hair: – Eva Maria Johny, 3rd prize: – Kyra Belge, 2nd prize: – Fatima Gulam Sarwar, 1st prize: – Aaira Fatima Sheikh.

3 years – 4 years: sunshine smile: – Musa Tanveer, chubby cheeks: – Mariyam Sikander, sparkling eyes: - Mahit Iyer, curly hair: – Syed Ali Hyder Naqvi, 3rd prize: - Kareem Al Hadi, 2nd prize: – Jestine Batayola, 1st prize: – Krishna Vishwas.

4 years – 5 years: sunshine smile:- Shreya Rayavanam, chubby cheeks: – Sarah Abdul Munaf Maniyan, sparkling eyes: – Saanvika Nair, curly hair: – Sanchi Simepurushkar, 3rd prize: – Ruba Khalid Abdul, 2nd prize: – Vianna Sarah D’Souza, 1st prize: – Mehar Parath Thakkar.