united nations cricketer sachin tendulkar joins a roster of global celebrities including david beckham and novak djokovic for a special unicef campaign that highlights the critical role played by fathers in childrens early developmentthe unicef initiative super dads coming just days ahead of fathers day celebrates fatherhood and highlights the importance of love play protection and good nutrition for the healthy development of young childrens brainsthe campaign which highlights fathers critical role in childrens early development features stars from the world of entertainment and sport including tendulkar beckham djokovic academy award winning american actor mahershala ali british formula one racing driver lewis hamilton and australian actor hugh jackmanwhen i was a young child my father gave me the right amount of love freedom and support to shape who i am today tendulkar a unicef ambassador said in a statementevery kid needs protection love good food and play to support growth and development and its up to both parents to provide these he saiddjokovic said as a father he has seen for himself the impact that love and positive action has had on his child during the early years of lifebeing a new parent isnt easy there are many challenges that fathers across the world face this campaign is about supporting and encouraging fathers so they can be the super dads their kids desperately need said the unicef goodwill ambassadorthe heartwarming videos and photos of celebrity dads in the campaign will be coupled with stories of super dads from across the world including those who are doing their best to raise their children in extremely difficult circumstancesone such super dad is south sudanese refugee idro who is raising three daughters aged 2 months 3 and 13 years old in ugandas bidi refugee settlement the largest in the world idro fled his wartorn country in july 2016 and is doing everything he can to keep his young daughters healthy happy and safe unicef saidthe earliest years of life present a critical oncein alifetime opportunity to shape childrens brain development and its their parents who hold the largest stake in this process unicef chief of early childhood development pia britto saidbritto added that the more fathers mothers and other family members shower their babies and young children with love play good nutrition and protectionthe better these childrens chances are of reaching optimal health happiness and learning ability good parenting for young children living in highly stressful conditions like conflict or extreme poverty can even provide a buffer helping them to fully develop despite adversity britto saidunicef added that good parenting in early childhood especially during the first 1000 days sparks neural connections in childrens brains laying the foundation for their future successes research suggests that when children positively interact with their fathers they have better psychological health selfesteem and lifesatisfaction in the longtermwe need to break down the employment and societal obstacles that deprive fathers and mothers of precious time with their young children said brittoit is critical that the