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Parent Friendly awards

LISTENING TO PARENTS
..make your vote count!

As every parent knows, the patter of tiny feet changes your life forever and knowing which shops have good baby changing facilities and where best to take your toddler for lunch can be a blessing.

To encourage companies to provide a parent friendly service and make life easier for families, Tommy’s, the baby charity, launched the Parent Friendly Awards (PFAs) 11 years ago. Tommy’s believes that if organisations take family customers into consideration, their campaign mission of reducing stress levels of parents and parents-to-be, will be successful.

A recent MORI survey reveals that parents associate parent friendliness with shops and public places being geared towards families’ needs . Since the PFAs began just over a decade ago, Tommy’s has been campaigning for a positive shift of attitude towards families. The campaign can be credited as new research reveals that 47% of parents feel that Britain is more family friendly than it was ten years ago, when only 32% of parents felt it to be family friendly .

Since the PFAs began, Tommy’s has awarded over 150 companies, with vast improvements being made in areas such as wider checkouts, baby feeding and rest areas, and providing greater accessibility and higher levels of service for parents with young children. But parents believe there is still room for improvement – for example, 1 in 10 parents would like a crèche provision in shopping centres .

In 2004, Tommy’s is encouraging parents to vote in its celebrity-supported Parent Friendly Awards from Monday 19 January to Monday 15 February 2004. There are 24 categories in the 2004 awards, giving parents the opportunity to reveal their favourite parent friendly places to shop, travel and dine out.

This year also sees the launch of new finance categories, giving parents the chance to comment on the best forms of investment for their little savers as well as the most parent friendly banks and building societies - essential information when you consider the costs of parenthood!

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Voting forms will be available across the country from Debenhams, Asda, Tesco, Vertbaudet, Blooming Marvellous, Tomy, Lakeside, Moto, Family Assurance, Center Parcs, Mark Warner Holidays, The Centre MK, Chessington World of Adventures, Toys R Us and Thompson Holidays. Parents and parents-to-be can also vote online at www.tommys.org.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Tommy’s Press Office 020 7593 1135
Suzanne Trisk strisk@tommys.org Ash Anand aanand@tommys.org

Notes to editor:

Tommy’s, the baby charity was set up in 1992 and through a national programme of research aims to end the heartache caused by premature birth, stillbirth and miscarriage. It also provides information on healthy pregnancy to parents-to-be and health professionals.

For further information visit www.tommys.org or call 08707 70 70 70.

Celebrities recruited to date are:

Stacey Young - Model, married to singer, Paul Young
Gordon & Tana Ramsey – Chef and his wife
Carol Decker - Lead singer for T'Pau
Haydyn Gwynne - Actress from Merseybeat
Katie Derham - ITV evening newsreader
Amanda Stretton - Presenter for Channel 5
Tamara Beckwith - Columnist & presenter
Jamelia - Popstar
Floella Benjamin, Chairman of BAFTA