It sure is hard out there when you want to market your cafe or restaurant as family friendly but you’re not actually family friendly at all. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes has had it with the tired moral outrage over kids with the temerity to be out in public. Another week, another story about a … Read more
Mary Sea has been gorging on pop music and she’s found the Top 40 is a different world at 40 when you have little ears to consider. But never fear, she has a solution to inane patriarchal ditties. Having kids changes you in ways you can never predict. One of the biggest surprises for me … Read more
Mother of five Cathy Johnston writes about her hopes that her children will appreciate her – as she appreciates her own mother, and all those who mother us. As the mid morning sunshine filters through the clouds, the last of Jack Frost’s overnight ice crunches beneath my pink gumboots. The baby is finally asleep. I … 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
Are we getting the right advice on co-sleeping? Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes is concerned some of the safety messages out there aren’t aligned with the reality of parenting. Content warning: This post talks about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy. At about seven weeks pregnant with our first … Read more
Thalia Kehoe Rowden imagines a future where we have mothers of young children and babies in Parliament. What a world it could be… Today in Parliament, the House passed a unanimous motion of congratulations to Prime Minister Golriz Ghahraman, on the birth of her third child. In a statement to the House, Acting Prime Minister, … Read more
It took less than a day for Jacinda Ardern to be asked about how she might combine being the leader of a political party and a mum at some point in the future, a question unlikely to be asked of a 37 year old man stepping into the same role. Dr. Jenny Condie, list candidate … Read more
Can you sum up parenting in a few syllables? We asked some members of the Brilliant & Amazing Writers & Mothers online writers’ community to share some haiku with us. Cold hands grabbing me Mummy, mummy, where are you. I don’t know. Do you? – Emalitza Coffee. More coffee. Remember waking up when It was … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes listened to RNZ’s new podcast BANG! on sex and sexuality and thinks it’ll be a hit with parents. The first episode tackled talking about the birds and the bees with your babies. I am not entirely sure if I ever had “The Talk”. I don’t remember it, but that doesn’t … Read more
Oh! The Places You’ll Go when you’re a parent. Here’s an uplifting and hilarious poem by Gillian Breckell (based on the original Dr Seuss masterpiece we know and love) to soothe tired mamas. It’s best read with some chocolate or wine or anything that makes you feel good inside. Congratulations! Today brought a baby. You’re … Read more
Getting your kids to brush their teeth can be a nightmare – an unending, soul-destroying nightmare (*emphasis mine* – Emily Writes, Spinoff Parents editor and hater of brushing my child’s teeth). As part of Oral Health Month, dental hygienist and mother of three Leanne Jones – who seen the consequences of kids not brushing properly … Read more
Huggies NZ just published a ‘helpful’ guide to toilet training for ‘girls‘ and ‘boys‘ and got a hell of a response to it. Angela Cuming hits back at the silly manual that seems like it’s straight out of the 1950s. Dear Huggies, I just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you for … Read more
Leaving the house when you have kids can be a nightmare of epic proportions. Anna Gowan has your back. Here’s her top six tips to get you to church (or the pub) on time. Forget waking up at the crack of dawn or making lunches the night before, these largely untested and questionable ideas will … 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
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
Need a parenting hack? Spinoff Parents has got your back – sort of. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes shares the best (*mostly* best) reader brainwaves. “I bribe my child to behave in public so often that we’ve worked out how to do it through hand squeezes. Three hand squeezes means shut up you’ll get a … Read more
Caitlin Carew’s partner decided he wanted to be at home with the children so she needed to find full-time work. Here she describes what decision they made and how they worked it out together. We were on holiday when my partner made his Big Announcement. Holidays are often when he does his Deep Thinking. He’d … Read more
The ‘experts’ are quick to tell us to never ever leave our kids alone in the car, even for a second. But is that really the safest option every time? Mother of three Angela Cuming doesn’t think so. I am always so conflicted when I see the old and predictable ‘Don’t Leave Your Babies In … Read more
The Tiger Who Came To Tea was first published in 1968. Written and illustrated by Judith Kerr, the classic picture book has long been ripe for a satirical re-write. Thanks to Thalia Kehoe Rowden, we have just that. Once there was a little girl called Sophie, and she was having tea with her mummy in the … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes put the call out for your dirty little secrets about parenting and was inundated by text, email, and private message. Here’s the best of the worst. I have a favourite child. I try not to, and I don’t think my other kids would ever know. But I really like my … Read more
Ramona AitkenRead is six years old. She is proving that you’re never too little to stand up for the things you believe in. Here she talks about why she’s protesting to protect a mountain. Three weeks ago New Talisman Gold Ltd began mining operations on Mount Karangahake near Paeoroa, in the heart of a Conservation … Read more
Our favourite animal expert Thom Adams is back to reassure us about our parenting choices by looking to the animal world. I’m not sure why, but first-time parents have this weird resistance to giving their kids medicine. It happened to me, and I don’t know why. Fever, snotty noses and coughs are all natural responses … Read more
Like a lot of mothers, Angela Cuming is frankly sick of Jamie Oliver parenting advice. Get ready for a rant about Oliver and the army of judgers who don’t know shit about kids who are picky eaters. I like to keep a couple of Jamie Oliver cookbooks in my kitchen. I find them incredibly handy … Read more
Jacqui Smith is a New Zealand mama making it in the Big Apple. Here she shares a day in the life of raising her child in New York City. Three lunches packed, four sips of coffee down, ten minutes till I hand over to the sitter, then shimmy into my work clothes, kiss everyone goodbye … Read more
Ella Davis has a confession to make. It’s something she thinks a fair few parents can relate to – and we think she’s probably very right. It’s every parent’s nightmare isn’t it – a tearaway kid – but if I’m honest, I can’t control my child. I often find myself worrying what others think about my … Read more
It’s late at night and you’re looking for parenting advice online. Suddenly you’re confronted with list after list of the five things you absolutely should not be doing as a parent. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes is no expert – but she does have a top five list for you. While looking for some advice … Read more
All this week the Spinoff Review of Books is devoted to a candid, sometimes shocking new memoir by ex-Green MP Holly Walker about her experience as a working mother in parliament. Today: an excerpt. One Friday morning, about three months after my return to work, I held a drop-in clinic for constituents in Petone. Parliament … Read more
How did we ever reach a point where ‘Is it OK to kiss your kids?’ was actually asked multiple times around the world in apparently reputable news outlets? Angela Cuming looks at one of this week’s most infuriating parenting stories. Here are things parents do that I find weird: Smacking their kids Bullying their kids … 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