Summer reissue: a prayer for a woman with dementia, this fictional piece by Cambridge writer Tracey Slaughter features in the new edition of Landfall. First published 7 November 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about … Read more
A new study of NZ children has found no link between birth type and test scores. That’s no surprise, says Emily Writes, so why do many new mums still have to put up with being judged? While pregnant with my first baby and attending antenatal classes, I was introduced to a new fear – the … Read more
A prayer for a woman with dementia, this fictional piece by Cambridge writer Tracey Slaughter features in the new edition of Landfall. She will forget the house. It will leave her one window at a time, breaking off in pieces of pine and lace and quartered glass. She will forget the feel of the rooms … Read more
Get a quick fix of your former wriggling, rhyming, library-going life in this extract from Susan Edmunds’ debut novel. Editor’s note: Mummy Needs a Break is perfect low-key lockdown fodder. From the blurb: “With a devilish toddler and baby number two on the way, Rachel’s big dream is to one day go to the toilet … Read more
Breastfeeding in public can still be stressful for a lot of mothers. Gemma Bowker Wright lists her favourite places to breastfeed without the added judgement or worry. It makes me mad when I hear stories of mums being told they can’t breastfeed in public places. This shouldn’t still be an issue – it’s 2020, not … Read more
Acclaimed New Zealand-born poet Amy Brown on how the first months of motherhood blasted her writing life – and, eventually, inspired her radically honest new verse journal. The night after birth, when the milk came in, a midwife gave me her pen. I was supposed to use it to write the times of feeds, their … Read more
Parents editor Emily Writes on everything wrong with Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig’s latest work on motherhood. Two of the most beautiful and profound friendships I have had in motherhood were conceived in similar ways. When my son would not stop crying, I developed a habit of walking up and down our steep street. I was … Read more
Anna Knox, who spent four years living in Saudi Arabia, has been waiting for a book like Celestial Bodies – a story that shakes up entrenched ideas of women in the Middle East. Early on in Jokha Alharthi’s Celestial Bodies, Abdullah, son of Sulayman the Merchant, describes his family home in the village of Al-Wafi with … Read more
Wellington writer, illustrator and Katherine Mansfield obsessive Sarah Laing has a new book out tomorrow. Here, she tells its origin story. My first baby was really bad at breastfeeding – or else, as my mother and the Plunket nurse insinuated, I had the wrong shaped nipples. He couldn’t get the suction right and it would … Read more
Women are told that their artistic life ends when motherhood starts. But Anna Knox knows that isn’t the case. I was living in Saudi, trying to finish a novel I had started on the UEA (University of East Anglia) Creative Writing programme when I first learned I was pregnant. My partner and I had been … Read more
New verse from poet and playwright Renee Liang. Contents of a mummy Tardis handbag 1 pair sparkly sneakers 1 small bag defrosted peas, rejected by non-health-conscious ducks in the domain re 1 tube sunblock (unused) 2 battery packs for iPad iPad, open at Lego Star Wars game iPhone, open at Pokémon Go wallet packed with … Read more
Our current understanding of infertility is limited and leads to unfair stigma, Hannah Gibson writes. Ask most people what they think infertility is, then they will most likely answer ‘it is when you can’t have children.’ It is nearly always contexualised contrary to the idea of ‘fertility’, sitting in opposing categories and corners from one … Read more
There’s a lot to love about the acclaimed comedy-drama Better Things, which returns to Lightbox for a third season this Friday. Tara Ward takes at look what the show gets right about parenting. Better Things heroine Sam Fox reckons that if she was to ever name her home, it’d be called ‘Tiny Assholes With Vaginas’. … Read more
The mother of Maureen Pugh, the National MP whom Simon Bridges called ‘fucking useless’, has rounded on the party leader, calling him a ‘dumb arse’ in return. Good on her, says Emily Writes: all power to mummy warriors, of all ages. I was at Chipmunks – sometimes it feels like I live there – when … Read more
After giving birth to her first child, personal trainer Niki Clarke discovered there was nothing for her to wear to the gym to accommodate her changed body and desire to breastfeed. So she decided to do something about it. In 2013, Nikki Clarke and her husband Adam were expecting their first child. They’re both personal … Read more
Listen to British poet Hollie McNish and Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes’ session, chaired by Catherine Robertson and featuring fellow novelist Brannavan Gnanalingam, from WORD Christchurch The sold-out session at WORD Christchurch “Motherhood” featured British poet Hollie McNish, known for her poetry and writings on mothering, sex, pregnancy, and birth. Her book Nobody Told Me chronicles her pregnancy … Read more
Every parent has probably felt the disapproving eyes of others at some point when out with their offspring. Linda Jane Keegan challenges that feeling that kids just aren’t welcome anywhere. “It’s not working,” she said. And I thought, no, it’s not working. This workshop, organised to find out how to engage people like me, hasn’t … Read more
You want mothers? Lightbox has ’em. Tara Ward takes a look at the best TV mothers to hang with this weekend. Mothers. They’re everywhere these days; at work, at the gym, on the television. They’ve even had the audacity to give themselves a day in their own honour (it’s tomorrow, FYI). Nowhere is safe from women … Read more
For many, Mother’s Day isn’t a day of celebration. Here, a mother explains why she finds Mother’s Day so tough. Every year it rolls around and my anxiety increases. The countdown begins, mailers and emails are full of “Love Your Mother” sentiments. All over social media people celebrate their mothers. If they’re mothers themselves they’ll … Read more
We never know what kind of parent we will be before our children are with us. In this personal essay, Helen Gilby talks about the mother she thought she would be, and the mother she is. I became a mother four years ago. I feel like this sentence alone should be the beginning and the … Read more
In Tibet babies are named by a respected elder. In Borneo, turtles are kept out of the birthing room, and the Gusii women of East Africa paint their breasts with bitter herbs when they’re ready to wean. Thalia Kehoe Rowden learned all of this and more from a beautiful new book, Little Gems, produced by … Read more
Among the resurgence of adult animated shows, Bob’s Burgers stands out for its joyous, optimistic look at working class family life. Madeleine Chapman spoke to John Roberts about impersonating his own mum and how that became a full-time gig as Linda Belcher. I watched three seasons of Bob’s Burgers before bothering to look up the voice cast and I … Read more
Being called a Supermum is supposed to be a light-hearted compliment, but is it helpful? Clinical psychologist Sarah Bell-Booth isn’t so sure. The definition of a Supermum seems to include a daunting super long-list of super parent powers. You must of course be able to adopt and maintain a happy and calm disposition 24/7, seven … Read more
Happy Mother’s Day! Today Sam Brooks remembers his crazy/beautiful mother, and the life lessons she left him with. she broke three ab circle pros and made the manufacturers replace them free of charge each time. she never admitted they didn't work. — Sam Brooks (@sbrookbrooks) April 30, 2017 It was my mother’s birthday a few … Read more
What does Mother’s Day mean to you? What do you love about being a mum? Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes asked a bunch of mums to tell us what their life is like. The time is here for Mother’s Day content. In the hopes of finding you some quality out-of-the-mouths-of-babes content I asked my four-year-old … Read more
Josh Wharehinga is a father of six and Gisborne District Councillor, Tairāwhiti Health and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa board member. Last week he wrote about his mother on his blog and, for Mother’s Day, we’re republishing it on The Spinoff Parents. I talk a lot. All the time. I talk about what it was like … Read more
If we were able to speak to the people we were when we first became parents, what would we say? Kiri Speirs reaches back through the years to speak to the mum she was to her beloved daughter Zoe. Dear Zoe’s mama, 2006 I know you know she is a miracle and you love her … Read more