A Nice Pair: Friendly Feeding Winners Announced

A Nice Pair
Friendly Feeding Award Winners Announced

It’s official. Auckland’s North Shore is home to the most supportive breastfeeding environment in the whole of New Zealand as the inaugural 2010 Breastmates’ Friendly Feeding award is handed to Mairangi Bay’s Café Windsor, with Sylvia Park’s parent’s room the runner up.

The family-friendly café beat nine finalists and eighty-five nominated businesses to be crowned the best place in the country to breastfeed your baby. With the North Shore home to many families — 47.5% of the demographic are couples with children (5.5% above the national average)* — it’s sure to be a busy week for the cafe following the announcement.

“Cafe Windsor’s attitude to service blew us away,” says Frances McInnes, the founder of Breastmates award-winning online maternity store. “From offering to cut up a mother’s food so she could eat with one hand while breastfeeding, to cups of water brought over unprompted to any mother they saw breastfeeding, this cafe doesn’t just walk the talk — it’s running the marathon when it comes to being supportive to families!”

The Winner: Cafe Windsor (542 East Coast Bays, Mairangi Bay)
“Our mission has always been to provide a place that our customers can feel comfortable in and our customers are predominantly mothers. Breastfeeding just isn’t an issue, it’s what mothers do,” says owner Alan Barrow modestly, who has run the café with his wife for almost four years. “Being child and mum-friendly has always been our point of difference as we’re situated off the main road.”
Endorsement by Breastmates will no doubt ensure even more visibility for the café among mothers in the region. Café Windsor is located in the Windsor Park Baptist Church complex, which plays host to Jumping Beans, Mainly Music and MOPS.

The Runner Up: Sylvia Park parent’s room

Parents rooms are often the last place parents want to breastfeed, so it’s surprising that the second best place to feed your baby, as voted by mothers, is the parents room at Sylvia Park shopping centre.

“The parents room was always impeccable, with great facilities, including a secure area for toddlers with child-décor and a kids DVD playing. Parenting booths, with the option to close or leave the curtain open, comfortable chairs for breastfeeding and clocks in each cubicle made this an excellent choice,” mystery mum’s judging comment.

“Many parent’s rooms are obvious after-thoughts by management,” says McInnes. “Being tucked away in a small, dingy room with no outside light or entertainment isn’t the first choice of women doing something as natural as breastfeeding, but Sylvia Park’s parent’s room has proved they can be done well and provide a haven for a breastfeeding mum.”

Windsor Cafe and the management of Sylvia Park’s parent’s room will each receive a framed certificate, as well as promotion on www.breastmates.co.nz and to their database of New Zealand mothers.

“We don’t judge parents on whether they are breast or bottle feeding, and we provide support for both methods on our website. But it’s great to know that other Kiwi businesses are providing facilities and an encouraging attitude for those mums who do breastfeed,” says McInnes.

“Our hope is that Breastmates’ Friendly Feeding Awards will encourage more businesses to see the value for the community in providing support to mums while they are breastfeeding their babies,” says McInnes, who is a guru on breastfeeding and was involved with the Ministry of Health’s breastfeeding campaign.

All nominated locations, that other mums recommended around New Zealand, can be viewed at www.breastmates.co.nz/awards

ENDS

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