Parenting

On birthdays, babies and rainbow jellies

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Amanda Thompson, who knows a thing or two about first birthdays, reckons this momentous day should be marked with celebratory jellies of multiple hues.  Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford turns one today! Happy birthday to our own First Baby, the National Bubba, our cutest taonga. I don’t care what your politics are, all babies are … Read more

Emily Writes: At long last, introducing meal kits for kids!

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Parent to a fussy toddler? The ‘I’m Not Hungry for Fruit Mum’ bag is the only meal kit service you’ll ever need! Delivery meal kits seem to be everywhere at the moment. Every company insists they have the food that your kids will love. They say you’ll never have to think about what you cook … Read more

How to pick the right perfume for mum this Mother’s Day

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Whether she’s a “spontaneously elegant woman” or subscribes to “feminine rock-chic”, there’s a fancy, expensive designer perfume for every mum.  I don’t know about people who stay strong in the face of Mother’s Day marketing hype. It’s a bit weirdly zen to me; borderline sociopathic, maybe. We all know the day is just a trick … Read more

Emily Writes on taking Rants in the Dark from the page to the stage

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Spinoff parents editor Emily Writes’ bestseller Rants in the Dark is coming to Auckland – as a play. Her Spinoff colleague Sam Brooks, a playwright himself, spoke to her about the process of seeing her book adapted for the stage. I’ve been writing plays for nearly a decade now. I’ve written stuff that could not be further … Read more

The memoir that asks: Can I be a mother, and still be myself?

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“The obliteration of self. The prioritising of others. The yearning for escape”: Holly Walker on a motherhood memoir that rings in the bones. Before the current bumper crop of radically honest books about motherhood, there was Marie Darrieussecq. Eighteen years ago in Paris, she sat at her desk, notebook open, her baby resting face down … Read more

What Better Things nails about being a parent

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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

Summer reissue: ‘Holiday’ and other words that don’t exist for parents

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When you have a kid, words like ‘hangover’ and ‘holiday’ take on a whole new meaning. Mum Anna Gowan rewrites the dictionary for parents. Published 7 June, 2018. Fact: Kids give new meaning to life. “Yeah yeah,” I used to say upon hearing this. “I’ve seen the nappy ads and the cheesy photo shoots of … Read more

Summer reissue: A stay-at-home dad asks, Have you seen my masculinity?

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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. First published on 18 June, 2018 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 … Read more

Summer reissue: Sick kids, desperate parents and bad science

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Inside a Facebook group where anti-vaxx propaganda is promoted as information for ‘informed consent’.  Published 25 January, 2018 Not long after my son was born dry patches of irritated skin began to appear on his face. I lathered the little guy up with all types of oils and creams but nothing worked so, like most … Read more

On motherhood: Hollie McNish and Emily Writes in conversation

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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

How to tell your child you’re getting divorced

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While some kids may skate through their parents’ separation relatively unscathed, many may suffer at least some short term, if not longer term distress. Psychologist Rachael Sharman has some advice. As an adult, you’ve likely forgotten just how central your family was to your sense of stability and even identity. Children have yet to develop autonomy, independence … Read more

You’re not a solo parent just because your partner is away a lot

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Solo parenting isn’t having a week looking after the kids on your own. Mum of three Julie Fairey explains why the comments about solo parenting don’t respect the real mahi of parents without that back-up – financial, social or otherwise – and why they don’t address the stigmas or inequality around sole parenting. It happened … Read more

‘I was so angry that it was so difficult!’ Poet Hollie McNish talks motherhood with Holly Walker

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Hollie McNish – author, poet, activist, mother, spoken word artist, winner of the Ted Hughes Award – is coming to New Zealand to speak at Word Christchurch. Author and Spinoff Parents contributor Holly Walker caught up with McNish to discuss motherhood and writing. When I read award-winning British poet Hollie McNish’s ‘poetic memoir’ about motherhood, … Read more

That Aussie journalist is wrong about Jacinda Ardern

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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

Where is the compassion for parents of children with allergies?

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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

The workplaces doing the most for working parents

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For no particular reason we’re celebrating Kiwi companies that are being a bit extra, for the good of working parents. We know the drill. It’s the hardest job you’ll ever have. Working, parenting – parenting, working. It’s tough. We’ve got a bunch of in-built safety nets via our labour laws which (hopefully) ensure parents with … Read more

Surrogacy in the age of The Handmaid’s Tale

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The Handmaid’s Tale portrays surrogacy as an act of violent exploitation. Surrogacy researcher Hannah Gibson considers how the show affects our understanding of surrogacy in New Zealand and asks: are women here being exploited? Recently, I sat down with popcorn to watch the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale on Lightbox. Based on the 1985 … Read more

Where the Wild Things Aren’t: on the exclusion of children from public places

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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

This Mother’s Day let’s ditch shitty stereotypes about New Zealand’s mums

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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