Jo Whiley chats about Persil's 'Pass on the Love Picnic' campaign
Kicking off at Camp Bestival on Saturday 30 July in Dorset, families are invited to take part in the 'Persil Pass on the Love' inspired teddy bear picnics. The campaign, along with the help of Jo Whiley is promoting the washing, passing on and swapping of your kids old soft toys with other children as a fun and cheap way to keep kids happy this summer.
"I think as a mum you need to be prepared. It can be quite expensive going to theme parks and such so this just seems like a really good idea. You can get together with lots of friends, with other mums and it doesn't cost anything and the idea is your swapping your teddy bears," Jo tells FemaleFirst.
With four children, the youngest being only two and a half, Jo has seen her fair share of soft toys pass through her house. Covered in mud or vomit, she struggled to get them clean.
"I used to think 'I don't know how I can possibly get these clean' and I used to throw them away. Persil say that you can actually wash your teddies and your fluffy rabbits with 2 in 1 with comfort and it gets the smell out really easily."
"I love the idea that toys can be passed onto other children. They can either swap them or else you can get involved with Oxfam and pass on to kids that can't afford those toys and I think's really important aswell," she continues.
As well as the teddy bear picnics, there are other great activities taking place at the 'Persil Pass on the Love Picnic' event including a puppet stand, huge teddy swap bins, kids' play areas with face painting and tea and cakes.
Jo will be heading to Camp Bestival this year with her four children India 19, Jude, 12, Cassius 10 and little Coco just two and a half and believes that the festival scene is a great way to get children inspired to be outdoors.
"My kids love playing Xbox and Playstation as much as any children so you have to show them an alternative. It's really important not to just sit in a darkened room all day and to get yourself outside. Go for walks, get fresh air and play on the trampoline to be really physically fit and active," encourages Jo.
Despite growing up with a public figure mum, much to Jo's delight her children are incredibly grounded and 'unimpressed' with the celebrity side to her life, despite shooting hoops with Jay-Z and hanging stage side watching Biffy Clyro.
"The only people that will impress them is if you're anyone from Doctor Who or Nitro Circus (an MTV extreme sports show). Musicians really leave them cold, but if you're a magician then it's cool, if you do stunts on bike then your super cool," she laughs.
Having recently moved from BBC Radio 1 to a new Radio 2 evening show, Jo could not be happier with the move as it allows her to spend more time at home with the family.
"I get to spend lots of time at home with the kids, I can spend lots of time with Coco when she's tiny which I'm just relishing....and I have my weekends back which is fantastic because I can just be a bit more of a mum than I was being before and I'm loving the show."
While she may have a busy work schedule, Jo is keen to make this summer all about spending time with her children. "I just want to make this the best summer ever for my kids. My daughter's been away at University and she comes back in a few days. I'm going to have all four of them back together, so I'm just going to go and have as many adventures as I can.
"That will probably mean camping in Dorset and going to Cornwall and doing body boarding. I feel like we have lots of typically British holidays and we did it last year too. I just went with my friend, took all the kids, took a tent, found a random campsite.
"The summer's going to be full of fantastic adventures."
Jo Whiley teamed up with Persil 2in1 with Comfort to encourage families to enjoy a fresh take on the traditional teddy bear’s picnic, by hosting the first ever ‘Persil Pass on the Love Picnic’ at Camp Bestival on Saturday 30 July. If you want to win a family ticket to the first ever ‘Persil Pass on the Love Picnic' at Camp Bestival visit persil.co.uk/kids-activities/pass-on-the-love
FemaleFirst Jenna Fordie
twitter @Jenna_FAM
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