Men find it hard to seek help when they experience perinatal distress. Simon Day shares his story of postnatal anxiety and talks to parenting advocates about what fathers need to do when they’re feeling down. In late December 2019, our twin boys arrived two weeks earlier than expected. They were happy and healthy, but at … Read more
Stuck for ideas this Father’s Day? Amanda Thompson rounds up a small sample of the best gifts (plus jokes!) for the dad in your life. Dads are great, they’re nice to have around. Or so I’ve heard. I’ve always been a bit vague on the finer points of having a dad since mine was more … Read more
Dads. We’ve all met one. Many of us have one, or had one. Some of us are one. But who are these strange creatures? Spinoff cartoonist Toby Morris has been working on a new project illustrating fatherhood and life as a dad, and we’re presenting a new monthly series sharing some of these moments with … Read more
Jai Breitnauer on what happens when male role models start disappearing from a child’s life. Recently, we saw a ghost from the past. Once a regular visitor to our home, there just after the birth of our first child and a constant presence for more than a decade, this individual disappeared from our lives a … Read more
Spring is just around the corner, so what better time to start work on your own playhouse? Why let a lack of building prowess or your shitty collection of tools stand in your way? Gareth Shute is way ahead of you and shares his journey of mis-discovery. Have you noticed that all the big hardware … Read more
It’s Father’s Day in Aotearoa on Sunday. We asked some of the dads we know to share their thoughts about fatherhood. On Sunday, it’s Father’s Day, a day to celebrate all the good dads. Here at The Spinoff Parents we know it’s not a great day for everyone so we have a post on getting … Read more
Father’s Day is this Sunday and we will be sharing stories from dads in the days to come. In this piece first published on her blog, Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes writes about how hard the day can be for some. Later today we’ll have a post with crowdsourced ways to get through the day … Read more
Since becoming an at-home father, Adam Mamo has been on a desperate search for his masculinity – after all, he keeps being told it’s gone missing. You needn’t look far back in time to when being a stay-at-home dad wasn’t really a thing. Early practitioners of this dark art were seen merely as fathers without … Read more
Stay at home dad of three Cameron Lecky had a fight with an automated checkout machine last week. We’ve all been there, right? The honeymoon period ended last week. My previously impenetrable facade of cool, calm and collected Stay at Home Dad didn’t just crack. It came crashing down like it had been hit with … Read more
The inner-west Auckland suburb has plenty to keep a stay-at-home dad and his baby occupied, writes Phil Pinner, who has been there and done that. Since Friday’s announcement that Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford are expecting a child in June, the father-to-be has inundated with unsolicited counsel. Gayford, who will be a stay-at-home dad for … Read more
Jai Breitnauer talks about shared parenting in the 21st Century when you’re a one mother, one father family. Long, long ago, in a hemisphere far, far away, there was a little girl called Jaime who liked red ribbons in her hair, grapes in her lunchbox and horse riding at the weekend. Every morning after a … Read more
Father’s Day isn’t a happy day for a lot of families. A new dad reflects on the lessons he learned from his own dad – one who wasn’t the father he deserved. Dear Dad, Happy Father’s day I guess. I wish this note were written under better circumstances, but the reality is that you’ve been … Read more
After being told I’m so incredibly, breathtakingly lucky that my husband watches our children when I have to travel for work, this post by Brannavan Gnanalingam was like the first pinot gris after a very long day. I too long for a day when we are all allowed to be incompetent as parents. Bring it … Read more
Did you know competitive stroller running was a thing? Runner and dad Chris Ingham talks to marathoner Mike Wardian about how to make running with a baby better for both of you. I used to be a bit of a runner back in the day: I even came second in my school’s cross country in … Read more
Prompted by his son’s recent fourth birthday, Gareth Shute look backs and decides which of the preceding “terrible” years did the most to fray his nerves. Before I was a parent, the phrases “terrible twos” and “terrible threes” were meaningless to me. I figured it was a slip of the tongue when people alternated between … Read more