The topic of gender-neutral school uniforms, diversity and equality never seems to be far from the news. And it’s a topic that seems to rile people up for strange reasons. Rogena Sterling looks at the myths and truths around school uniforms and gender diversity and equality. Last month, UK media reported that skirts had been … Read more
The family whose two children were taken by Oranga Tamariki has finally been reunited. Joris de Bres documents the family court’s ruling to return their daughter. Little Emma, the girl with the broken bones, turned two this week. The next day the Family Court discharged the custody order which had been in place since she … Read more
Baby on your brain? Catherine Hart talks about her yearning need to be a mum. Have you ever experienced a craving for anything other than food? Perhaps a desire for a more challenging work life? Or a wish to move house and begin claiming your own space in a way you’ve never done before? Well … Read more
Have you had to deal with grumbling kids who don’t want to go back to school after the winter holidays? Here’s what to do. While some school reluctance is normal, spare a thought for parents whose back-to-school struggles have reached a whole new dimension. Their child’s reluctance to go to school has escalated into a … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes popped over to Parliament with her fellow short-haired feminist contingent to see what a silent bootie protest looks like. There it was, rows and rows of death booties. A strange cult of people who are all about forced impregnation have been in a frenzy knitting booties and the results of … Read more
Reported comments by Waikato District Health Board interim chief executive Derek Wright and perpetual disappointment and retired ball man Mark Richardson have seen parents being told they need to tell their depressed children to harden up. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes wonders why old men are so committed to pushing children to their limits. Update: The … Read more
An Australian journalist launched an attack on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for not parenting her weeks-old baby properly – and Spinoff Parents readers were not happy. Tash Barneveld sums up why Natalie Ritchie’s take was such a bad one. We all knew Jacinda Ardern’s performance as a parent would be endlessly scrutinised, opined upon, and criticised … Read more
We have heard from a lot of adults about the new Wellington buses. But what do kids think? Five-year-old Eddie gives his honest opinion. My name is Eddie. I went on the double decker bus today. I was doing a review about the double decker bus that I went on today and my baby brother … Read more
Exhausted parents of children with severe allergies have been verbally beaten up on Facebook after sensational articles about birthday cake bans at pre-schools whipped some Stuff commenters into a frenzy. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes spoke to Malena Penney, a mum of children with allergies. It seems like such a bizarre thing to get worked … Read more
In a beautiful personal essay, Neesha Bremner writes of her grandmother’s past and her journey to the place she was happiest. In my carry on luggage is a little grey plastic box. On that little grey plastic box is a name. That name is my grandmother’s. The little grey box is filled with her ashes. … Read more
Adam Mamo’s new series ‘Rating your Kiwi Childhood’ is all about looking back on your formative experiences as a little kid in the 1980s and a bigger kid in the 1990s. Today, Adam tackles the highs and very low lows of Saturday morning sport. Love it or hate it, kids sport is a Kiwi institution. … Read more
We were all horrified to see children ripped from their parents’ arms at the US-Mexico border last month. Sadly, this kind of thing happens in Australia, too, under their mandatory detention policies. Thalia Kehoe Rowden talked to a human rights lawyer about one family that has been separated for the last three years. Content note: … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes looks back on the change to her family when she had a second child. When I was pregnant I really worried my relationship with my first baby would change. We were so close, and I was concerned that a new addition to the family would put a strain on us. … Read more
Is it Normal? is the Spinoff Parents advice column. We’ve been inundated with questions but one keeps popping up! We asked new entrants teacher Jessie Moss to answer it. Is it Normal? is The Spinoff Parents’ advice column, a place for parents to ask experts the questions they Google at 2am. Start here if you’ve … Read more
Leah Hamilton moved to Berlin with her whānau from New Zealand. She explains what it’s like raising children in a haven for kids. When my husband got a job offer in Berlin, my mind immediately jumped to how cool the city is. I had visited six years ago by myself, and had spent most of my … Read more
Baz Macdonald has been a children’s storyteller at Vic Books in Wellington for the past three years. He shares some of the reasons why he loves the job, as well as some tips and tricks he has picked up along the way. I started the Vic Books Story Time in Wellington almost three years ago … Read more
Threatening people who don’t vaccinate for HPV does more harm than good, writes Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw. I hate a cervical smear, I really do. I look forward to the day when I no longer have to endure that particular bloody awkward and painful part of owning a cervix. I mean really there really are few … Read more
The arts are meant to be for everyone. But are they really? Mary Sea looks at theatre for babies and why we really really need more of it. Baby theatre. Theatre for babies. What’s the point, I hear you cry, rotten tomatoes at the ready. Why not just get out a wad of cash and hiff … Read more
HEIHEI says its programming is targeted at kids five to nine years old, but having watched the whole suite of shows – yes, all 39 of them – Thalia Kehoe Rowden finds plenty that’s great for pre-schoolers. Here are the best shows for littlies – and a few to avoid. What do you look for … Read more
Scout Barbour-Evans is pregnant and will be a dad. Here at The Spinoff Parents they share what it has been like so far. I am a boy. A pregnant boy. There is a foetus in my uterus. Yes, that’s possible. It was a planned pregnancy. I’ve desperately wanted to have a child since I was … Read more
Mike Hosking’s latest ‘modern parenting’ whinge is about children not walking to school. Jacquelyn Collins explains exactly why he’s wrong, and why parents are right to be concerned for the safety of their children on the school run. Mike Hosking is a keen and frequent participant in the popular modern pastime of reminding parents that … Read more
New Zealanders have been rightly horrified by Trump’s camps separating children from their parents. Are we similarly outraged by the illegal detention by the Australian government of babies and mothers? Thalia Kehoe Rowden spoke to some mums living in Nauru, waiting for years to be welcomed to a new country. Content note: this article contains … Read more
Food policing and lunchbox shaming has got to stop. Well intentioned as it may be, it’s not working – and it’s hurting our most vulnerable families, writes Dr Rebekah Graham. School lunchboxes are a site of moral judgement for parents. Meeting societal expectations with regards to providing socially acceptable items can cause feelings of embarrassment … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes has been doing some research and she’s sorry to tell you that everything is your fault. Usually I avoid stories that have titles like “It’s your fault your children are fat” and “Millennial parents: Lazy Shit-eating Scum”. Generally, it’s because I think they’re wrong but also because the horrible messages … Read more
Steff Green is turning her experience of bullying into a story of hope for young children in the form of a new picture book. She is nine years old. Two girls at her school pretend to be her friends, but mock her and humiliate her behind her back. She confronts them one day, tells them … Read more
What are our children missing out on when they’re excluded from graduation ceremonies? And what is it like for parents? Heidi North makes the case for inclusivity. I graduated from the University of Auckland in May with a Master in Creative Writing. I’m a study-junkie, so this is the third time I’ve got a qualification from … Read more
Fairy tales are a staple of most children’s reading experience – but should they be? Children’s storyteller Baz Macdonald wonders whether it’s time that we retired fairy tales for good. It would be difficult to find anyone in New Zealand who doesn’t know the stories of Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood. We were all … Read more
From the day the pregnancy was announced, Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford have been showered in advice, and that will only continue now the wee thing has emerged as a discrete human being. In typical adultocentric style, however, the advice has been about, rather than by or for baby. To remedy that, we invited the … Read more
What will they name the New Zealand Royal Baby? It’s one of the hardest decisions parents make, so we at The Spinoff Parents thought we would help. Here are some earnest suggestions for Jacinda and Clarke to help them on their way to choosing the perfect name for their bundle. We have carefully considered personalities, … Read more