Early childhood teacher and mother of two Donna Eden shares her advice for keeping kids calm and comforted during the quakes. We are all feeling pretty shaken by last night’s quake and aftershocks, especially our little folk who don’t have the same understanding of events that we do. Schools, kindergartens, and ECE centres are closed … Read more
‘A good mother would do this. A good mother would get her child sleeping through the night.’ Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes shares a wrenching account of life inside a chronically sleep-deprived household. At night my home is a horror film. Screams reverberate off the ceilings. There is no peace. My son came into the … Read more
What’s it like to want to start a family but not be able to? The second in an occasional series by Kat McKenzie, who writes about the hopes, fears and medical practicalities of trying to be a mother. Part one: Forever hopeful – my life in the parents-in-waiting club It starts in your gut. It’s … Read more
It gives The Spinoff much pleasure to welcome Dear Mamas to our suite of podcasts. Dear Mamas is a “no bullshit, no judgement” look at being a parent, hosted by Holly Walker and Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes. This is Dear Mamas, The Spinoff’s straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes, brought to … Read more
How do you talk about the US election with your children when you’re struggling with your own shock, confusion and fear? By embracing love, says Jared Dennis, and trying harder to be the change you want to see in the world. “At least I don’t have kids.” That has been the one thought I keep … Read more
New mum Annabelle Marley tells you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the messy, indelicate subject of post-childbirth pooping, but were too terrified to ask. Why are we publishing a post about how to take a shit after birth? Because 1) I vividly remember after both of my births frantically searching for advice on … Read more
There are benefits to being the working parent, like being able to focus on your career and avoiding much of the messy, back-breaking work of childcare. But as Brannavan Gnanalingam explains, they hardly make up for the overwhelming sense of guilt. I’m very excited about properly meeting Brannavan Gnanalingam on Saturday. I’m lucky enough to … Read more
We have a word for children who have lost their parents, but no equivalent for parents who have faced the agony of losing a child. Tessa Prebble writes about the limbo of being a mother with no child to parent, 18 months after the death of her daughter Eva. What does it mean to be … Read more
Emily Writes loves indoor playgrounds. Chipmunks, Junglerama, Jumparama, Laughalots – she’s never met a soft-play establishment she didn’t like. There’s just one problem: too many of her fellow parents don’t seem to understand the (unwritten) rules. So listen, she’ll say this only once… Oh Chipmunks, how I love thee. You are my office. You are … Read more
Today is the final day of Perinatal Depression and Anxiety (PNDA) Awareness Week 2016. To mark the occasion, Anna Reed writes about anxiety in mothering, and the value of finding other mothers who are going through the same thing. Some days we don’t leave the house. My little boy whistles on my chest and bounces … Read more
Key regulations aimed at preserving children’s connections to whakapapa and their culture are set to be dropped as part of a major shake up of New Zealand’s child welfare system. Kim McBreen explains why that’s terrible news for our most vulnerable Māori children. You may have heard the Crown have had a series of bad … Read more
A deeply personal essay about ‘a boy it would be an honour to have, and to love’ and his mother, by young writer Chessie Henry. Every so often, I try to imagine it; skin taut with expectation, a languid vibration in the bottom of your stomach, like a heavy bass-line of baby. From nowhere came … Read more
Many people think only mums can get post-natal depression and anxiety. In a post to mark Perinatal Awareness Week, Alan Law sets the record straight and explains how to recognise the signs – in yourself, or the new dad in your life. We don’t talk about the fact that dads get post-natal depression too. We … Read more
Halloween isn’t just for your kids. Emily Writes shares her list of costumes that would be great for you – an exhausted parent who doesn’t give two shits about Halloween. Want to be scary? But also sexy? But also you honestly don’t give a fuck at all because it’s just another night of no sleep? … Read more
Becoming a single parent can be scary and confusing. Ben Tafau shares his lessons from his journey as a solo dad in the hopes that it might help other fathers going through the same thing. Becoming a single dad was by far the biggest challenge I’ve faced to date. Separation can be a devastating event … Read more
Giving birth can be a traumatic experience for some women and when that happens recovery can take a long time. Dana Chandler-Brown writes about her personal experience of birth trauma, and why we should be doing more to support mothers going through it. This post talks about birth trauma, a very real issue in New … Read more
‘Have you tried…?’ It’s the call of unsolicited advice-givers everywhere. Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw tackles the science (or the lack thereof) behind the latest fad treatments for babies – including those damn amber beads. The Krakatoa eruption had nothing on this. I watched in horror as a voluminous fountain of precious breast milk blasted high into … Read more
Experts agree: improving the welfare of our children – especially the most vulnerable – would bring huge social benefits, not least among them a drastic decrease in crime. So what are the fixes? And what’s stopping us? Thalia Kehoe Rowden has some suggestions. What can you say about Thalia Kehoe Rowden? She is a lightening … Read more
Hang on, the poster in the gym that claims ‘first you feel like dying then you feel reborn’ isn’t about getting your child to sleep? That’s news to Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes. Saturdays begin with gymnastics class. One of the perks of my baby turning four (what the hell? He was just born) is … Read more
After reading the story of stay-at-home dad Cameron Leckey’s epic journey to get a vasectomy, you’ll never look at the be-skivvied quartet the same way again. We promise. I love the Wiggles. Whether it’s the original Wiggly quartet with their big red car and their ‘middle aged white man’ choreography, or Wiggles 2.0 and their … Read more
What’s it like to want to start a family but not be able to? Introducing Kat McKenzie, the author of a new Spinoff Parents column on the hopes, fears and medical practicalities of trying to be a mother. For years I used to read anything I could about parenting. I was so desperate to have … Read more
Music critic Simon Sweetman is famous for his often brutal reviews, and those on the receiving end usually take it on the chin. But not Robbie Williams. A year on, Sweetman looks back at his brief scrap with the pop star – and asks: since when are kids fair game? When Simon Sweetman came on … Read more
When it was scrapped in 2000, teachers and parents thought they’d seen the last of bulk funding, the hugely unpopular scheme for funding schools. Now it might be back. Donna Eden, a teacher with 20 years’ experience and a mother of two, explains why that’s a terrible idea. The first I knew about this bulk … Read more
What is it like to raise your children in a country where people are openly hostile to you because of your race? Natasha Johnson looks back on her own childhood experiences of racism and speaks directly to people of colour living in Aotearoa. I’m sure this will be uncomfortable reading for some, but Natasha’s words … Read more
Baby not sleeping? Feeling like you’re gradually going insane yourself through lack of shut-eye? Never fear, Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes is here to help. Getting your baby to go to sleep is quite simple. All you need to do is change your diet, their diet, your environment, your lifestyle, and be prepared to rid … Read more
The decision to use medication to treat depression is an individual one – what’s best for one person may not be so for another. Julia Kerr explains why antidepressants are the right choice for her, in a special post to mark Mental Health Awareness Week. It takes guts to talk about the things people don’t … Read more
What is it about being childless by choice that seems to invite everyone you know – and a few you don’t – to weigh in? Elizabeth Heritage, for one, has had enough. Earlier this year I wrote about being happily childfree by choice and it hit a nerve. One of the things I learned from … Read more
With its delinquent children, incompetent adults and profusion of flammable materials, Fireman Sam’s hometown of Pontypandy is a true health and safety nightmare. A concerned Chris Ingham has some suggestions. Wales, my ancestral homeland, has made several valuable contributions to mankind, without which modern history would be unrecognisable: daffodils, male voice choirs, Tom Jones, heroic … Read more
Over the next couple of weeks we’re introducing you to contributors to our parenting blog, The Spinoff Parents. Today Stacy Kemeys (BSc PGDipDiet) explains why being an expert in nutrition trumps being an expert in eating. Kids eating (or not eating as it were) is a touchy subject. Everyone seems to have opinions on picky … Read more