Juliet Speedy knows the importance of a close group of mama friends. Here she talks about the feeling we’ve surely all had: The Mummy Crush. A whole new world of friendship opens up when you have kids. A pretty bloody amazing one. One fabulous part of becoming a mum is how quickly you can make … Read more
When a supermarket in Marton announced it would offer special shopping sessions for adults and children with autism or sensory processing issues, families around New Zealand rejoiced. Alexandra Saunders shares why it means so much. News came today that Marton Countdown is offering an hour of quiet, every week from 3-4pm on Wednesdays. Designed to … Read more
Raising a child is hard. Caring for two is…harder? Sarah Bichan contemplates the pros and cons of having another child – with the assistance of Radiohead. Ever since having our first child, I’ve wondered: do we really want a second? Anyone will tell you that it’s one of those questions that doesn’t really have a … Read more
Whether it’s one glass while making dinner or a few at kids’ birthday parties, it’s often hard to separate motherhood from drinking. Mother of three Nadine Anne Hura writes about why she finally decided to quit for good. I never hit rock bottom. There wasn’t any great reckoning or moment of truth. Just a series … Read more
There are changes afoot at Te Papa. And the question on every parent’s lips is: What will happen to the Giant Squid every child is obsessed with? Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes went on a squid hunt. I have been to Te Papa with my two kids around eight hundred trillion times and we have … Read more
Nadine Anne Hura shares the challenges of encouraging te reo Māori with teenagers and the joy of total immersion environments for all of the whānau. My motivation for learning Māori has changed a lot since I first enrolled in a total immersion te reo course three years ago. Back then, I was all about the fast-track to … Read more
At-home dad Adam Mamo is sick of advertising around parenting brands. Why, he asks, does everything have to be so gendered? Being a new parent is stressful, and becoming a fresh target for incessant parent-focused advertising only makes it more so. The very worst ads try to cultivate fears about your child’s health and development, … Read more
A mother writes of her journey of love and loss in this beautiful personal essay about trying to raise children around addiction. His mother craned up and down the shoreline plucking shells and rocks from the sand. An island of clouds loomed overhead as she made her way to where he sat on the grassy … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes unloads her anxiety about her children who are nowhere near university age one day maybe going to university onto Spinoff staffers, genuine millennials, and recent students Alex Braae and Alice Webb-Liddall. Hi Alex and Alice! Thanks for agreeing to let me grill you. Basically I’ve been waking up at 2am … 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
The only Pasifika woman on a school board talks about the dangers of a lack of diversity – and makes a plea for other parents to support their schools. I’m a trustee on a lower decile school board attended at various times by all three of my children. I became involved with the school for … Read more
Playgrounds without shade are a problem. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. Here Jacquelyn Collins lays waste to jerks who have no reason to attack mothers fighting for better playgrounds. Recently a group of Otago University researchers revealed what most parents already know: most playgrounds lack adequate shade. The researchers recommended planting trees with … Read more
Teaching boys about sexual health, consent, and developing a culture of respect is vital to keeping all children safe. Frank Wilson McColl looks at the ways she’s trying to teach her sons about consent and respect. I used to be a young hip activist once upon a time (well, maybe I was never hip). But … Read more
It’s almost a rite of passage when you’re parenting small ones – what caused the violent rash spreading over your child’s hands and face? Donnelle Belanger-Taylor was surprised to find the source of her child’s week-long rash might be in your backyard. Send your kids outside, they said. It’ll be good for them, they said. Get … Read more
If there was one word you wish you could take back in your parenting, what would it be? Gem Wilder questions the language of motherhood and the way we talk to our children. Motherhood comes with its own language. As soon as you find out you are pregnant you acquire a whole new vocabulary: Ante-natal, … Read more
Behind closed doors, and in public facing judgement and contempt, mothers and fathers are doing their best to support their children through anxiety and other mental health issues. Here is one mother’s story. It is 9.30pm and I sit listening for the thumps, the bangs, the shrieks that will eventually build into crescendo of hysterical … Read more
Every year Charles Anderson takes his daughter on a road trip around his home region, seeing it as a chance to share something special and fleeting with a daughter who is getting bigger in the blink of an eye. For the third such trip of her young life, he tries, and fails, to go camping … Read more
Brought to you by Inflatable World, Breeder’s Digest is your monthly coffee group in a podcast. Hosted by mum of three Jane Yee and virgin mum Nicola Winslade, Breeder’s Digest is a casual chat with your mates about all the rubbish bits of parenting and all the really good bits as well. Have your say using … Read more
Plunket’s chief executive Amanda Malu says celebrating and supporting whānau and their parenting choices is how the village of New Zealand can help raise every child. Plunket people, like many across the country, were genuinely thrilled by the announcement from the prime minister and her partner Clarke Gayford on Friday last week. Yet the news … Read more
As we drag ourselves through the final stretch of January, Don Rowe asks one sleep expert how can we get some desperately needed shut-eye. This post was first published in January 2018 Last night I dreamed I was back in high school, lacing up my boots to run out for the first XV in a … Read more
Antenatal classes can be a wonderful resource for new parents. They’re mostly run by volunteers and they generally cover what you need to know – but sometimes what’s covered is less useful than the chance to meet other new parents. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes asked parents to tell her what they wish they’d heard … Read more
On her second son’s birthday, Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes has some advice for the expectant mother she once was: Hold fast, hold tight, hold on. When I was pregnant with my second baby I had a really idealised view of labour. My first labour had been relatively straight forward and in my mind I’d … Read more
You might have seen headlines claiming paracetamol in pregnancy could reduce your daughter’s future fertility. We asked no-bullshit Spinoff Parents scientist Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw to tell us what it all really means. Oh no the lady rats are taking too many drugs in pregnancy. Somebody control their behaviour for the love of the Great Rat Goddess, … Read more
Celebrated children’s author Joy Cowley this week repeated the tired and debunked myth that eight year old boys have ‘as much testosterone as an adult’. Jacquelyn Collins explains why such claims harm both parents and children, and why they need to stop. Update, Jan 11: Read a response from Steve Biddulph at the foot of this … Read more
Need a parenting hack? Spinoff Parents has got your back – sort of. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes shares the best (*mostly* best) reader brainwaves. This post was first published on July 11. “I bribe my child to behave in public so often that we’ve worked out how to do it through hand squeezes. Three … Read more
Because you are more than a mother. Because you’re doing enough. Because you just don’t feel like it – you’re allowed to say no to your kids, says Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes. This post was first published on May 26, 2017. I was sent an article and told it would change my life. This … Read more
Anna Gowan heard some advice on the radio and she decided to run with it. It turned into quite a day. One afternoon, I heard an interview on RNZ with a parenting expert. At first I was overcome by a wave of fatigue. Not another parenting expert, I thought … and then I heard the … Read more
School holidays have begun and everyone is tired. Here are some tips from Nicola Bond on supporting your kids when their behaviour is challenging you over the Christmas period. I wrote recently about what it’s like parenting a child with autism at Christmas and I find myself continuing to reflect on the challenges different families experience at … Read more
Nearly half of all children born last year were born to parents not married or in a civil union – and splitting up when you have property and children can be very complex. The Law Commission’s Stephen Day explains what the Property (Relationships) Act looks like now, and what it could look like with your input. … Read more