When struggling families are being forced to take out loans to survive, they shouldn’t also be pressured to give money to their church, writes Aaron Hendry. Last week Manukau Ward Councillor Efeso Collins horrified us with stories of impoverished families who were being forced to take out loans in order to make ends meet, as … Read more
What’s the best way for under-privileged kids to get the nutritious school lunches they need? This post was originally published on 26 July 2018 Yesterday, Eat My Lunch, the social enterprise which provides a lunch for a hungry school kid for every lunch it sells to the public, came under fire for claiming that 290,000 … 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
What is it like to be a mother living in poverty? Carissa Allen shares her story. Poverty does not care what colour your skin is, what your background is or how educated you are. Poverty does not discriminate and is often a result of circumstances, not choices. I am an educated, well-presented woman, I have … Read more
On Mother’s Day it’s important to recognise all mothers – and to consider the way we talk about those mothers who bear the brunt of stigma around poverty and income inequality, writes KidsCan’s Julie Chapman. It’s Mother’s Day, when our glossy magazines are overflowing with flawless images of Kiwi celebrities paying tribute to their mums, and the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A huge sack of cash for Auckland’s transport, a damning new child poverty report, and jailhouse snitches in the spotlight. The government and council will put $28 billion dollars towards a major plan to fix Auckland’s transport woes. Here’s a handy key facts story from Stuff, because there … Read more
Lorraine Taylor, CEO of Variety – the Children’s Charity, believes the Child Poverty Reduction Bill is an important tool to addressing New Zealand’s child poverty situation. She is imploring Kiwis to get behind the Bill by signing their name to an open letter to MPs before April 4. 1984 – a year forever etched in … Read more
There’s a widespread belief that charities and people living in poverty should just ‘be grateful’ for any food donations they receive. That’s a dangerous and damaging idea, argues Rebekah Graham. This is part of an ongoing series of articles based on Dr Rebekah Graham’s PhD research on poverty and food insecurity. Read part one – … Read more
This morning the tireless women’s refuge campaigner Jackie Clark published a Facebook post explaining why her organisation doesn’t want donations of tinned tomatoes. It was a message that resonated with Jess Berentson-Shaw, who studies how to help low income families thrive. Today an important treatise was released into the world, and it was about tinned … Read more
What is the value of a Kiwi childhood? This Christmas, Lorraine Taylor, CEO of Variety – The Children’s Charity, asks New Zealanders who have enough to consider helping those families who don’t. Children and young people make up nearly 25 percent of New Zealand’s population – that’s 1.12 million Kiwis under the age of 18. … Read more
Rebekah Graham continues her series on the results of her PhD research on food insecurity. Here she addresses the ridiculous and useless advice forced on poor New Zealand families. Read part one – No, poor New Zealand families can’t just ‘grow their own vegetables’ and part two – No, poor NZ families don’t just need … Read more
Jacinda Ardern has signalled her focus by adopting a portfolio tackling child poverty. But will the coalition government have the mettle to make the differences needed, asks Jess Berentson-Shaw. Prime minister Jacinda Arden has shrugged on her swannie, pulled on her red bands, and is wading into the mud to pull out a struggling lamb. … Read more
Parents in low income families are always being told that they’re making bad choices in the supermarket; many wealthy or comfortable families seem to believe they’d be better able to survive and thrive. But, as Rebekah Graham explains, her research with New Zealand families shows what’s really happening. To protect the privacy of research participants, … Read more
When you work at a decile one high school, you’re confronted with the realities of child poverty on a daily basis. Details of this article have been changed to protect privacy. It’s intended to show the challenges confronting students in low-income communities like Manurewa and therefore leaves unsaid the enormous achievements of the school and … Read more
Prime Minister Bill English made an unexpected commitment last night to cut the number of kids living in poverty by 50,000 over the next three years, and another 50,000 in the three years following. What exactly does he mean by that, asks Max Rashbrooke – and could his plan ever even work? When Bill English … Read more
Last week ActionStation and the Morgan Foundation launched Liz and Sam’s story. Since then, the pick-a-path game based on the lives of New Zealand families living on low incomes has been played close to 16,000 times. Its co-creator Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains the two years of research underpinning the game. Read Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw’s previous … Read more
Parents in low income families are always being told that if they are having difficulty putting food on the table that they should just ‘put in a garden’. But, as Rebekah Graham and Kimberly Jackson explain, their research with New Zealand families shows that it’s not as simple as it sounds. To protect the privacy … Read more
The recent conversations about parenting while poor have been deeply upsetting to many of those who have lived that experience. Here Kiki Van Newtown, mum of two and musician, shares what it was like growing up on welfare, and the lessons she learnt from her mum about how to survive while poor. There’s a running … Read more
Today ActionStation and the Morgan Foundation launch Liz and Sam’s Story, a pick-a-path game based on the lives of New Zealand families living on low incomes. In the first of a two-part series, the Morgan Foundation’s Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw discusses the in-depth research behind the game. After spending two years writing a book about what … Read more
Families who can’t afford children shouldn’t have them, according to ACT Party deputy leader Beth Houlbrooke. Here’s a list of 25 New Zealanders whose parents probably weren’t in a position to fully fund their child’s life at birth. Imagine New Zealand without… Stan Walker, recording artist, actor and TV personality Dr Michelle Dickinson, nanoscientist and … Read more
David Seymour and the ACT Party believe that only parents who are wealthy should be able to have children. Many, many parents, including Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw, disagree. I want to thank David Seymour and ACT for revealing a truth about parents with his recent statements about giving money to low income families. It is perhaps … Read more
The NZ Herald’s recent special feature on teen suicide in Northland was a reminder, should anyone need it, of the tragic cost of suicide in New Zealand. It’s time we all started treating suicide as the national emergency it is, writes Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw. What do I want for my children and what do I … Read more
Of all of the parenting topics that turn into all-out war online – breast vs bottle, dummy-gate, circumcision or uncut grapes – the worst of all is surely vaccination. Here the Spinoff Parents’ science writer Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw discusses the importance of talking calmly about vaccination. In part one and part two of this series … Read more
Yesterday the Green Party announced a major policy platform aimed at parents and children in New Zealand. In her own words, Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei explains the Budget for All Mothers. All Kiwi kids deserve the best great start in life, right? And what better country to raise kids: we are blessed with a … Read more
Forget the floral hand lotion, the pointless kitchen gadget, the bunch of crappy supermarket flowers. Emily Writes has a few things that would really make her day on Sunday. Mother’s Day! Every store in the land has shop fronts full of shit to buy your mum (and some not shit – like my book, which … Read more
Think your rental situation is tough? Try living with a chronic medical condition in a dark, mould-infested dump – and with a child to care for. One anonymous renter tells her story. Renting a shit hole when you’re 15 is an adventure – especially when you’re paying shit hole prices of 60 bucks a week. … Read more
The amazing truth about reducing child poverty is that we already know what works: regular, no strings attached cash payments. Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains the research backing up her call for the government to reinstate the Family Benefit. It was 1985; New Zealand was riding high in the waves of economic deregulation. I was seven … Read more
If the National Party gets its policy of “social investment” right it could stay in power for another generation. So what will Labour and the Greens do about it? Here’s part four of Simon Wilson’s analysis of Labour in 2017. At the National Party’s Northern Regional Conference in May last year, Bill English started his … Read more
The best way to improve the lives of thousands of our most deprived and at-risk kids? Give their parents a regular, guaranteed cash payment, says Jess Berentson-Shaw – no strings attached. We know that families in New Zealand are struggling. So, what are we doing about it? We need people who care, we need to … Read more