News
Banning social media misses the real crises
4+ hour, 9+ min ago (207+ words) Expert opinion from University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau In his book The Anxious Generation, psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt made a case for mobile phones and social media causing an epidemic of mental illness. The book resonated widely, particularly…...
Childcare proposals tip pay cuts and fewer qualified teachers
1+ week, 2+ day ago (102+ words) ECE funding proposals tip pay cuts and fewer qualified teachers Newsroom Calls to increase adult-to-child ratios in early childhood services have been sidelined once again – with concerns ratios could instead worsen. A regulatory review of the sector completed last year…...
Kiwi families need an agency that does good, not just looks good
1+ week, 3+ day ago (1650+ words) Prefer Newsroom on Google Comment: The statutory mandate governing child protection in Aotearoa New Zealand carries a profound legal and moral weight. Under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, a statutory social worker is tasked with an immense responsibility: to “form a…...
Auditor-General questions if preschool lunch contract was ‘predetermined’
2+ week, 2+ day ago (89+ words) Newsroom Amid a red flag-filled Auditor-General report on the coalition Government’s school lunch programme is concern over a small contract awarded to the charitable food provider KidsCan. The performance or suitability of the charity is not in question, but the…...
The difference a humble school lunch can make
2+ mon, 5+ day ago (1108+ words) Expert opinion from University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau School lunch programmes are known around the world for having a high return on investment, but the benefits aren’t always immediate. While they address children’s hunger in the present, they can…...
Mother's Day poem, by Elizabeth Smither
2+ mon, 6+ day ago (145+ words) The fashion in embraces Our parents did not go in forthe great bear hugs we bestow clinging to her back leg for a ride.Emotions were private and gestures rationed. We knew they loved and the waythey expressed it was…...
Children's nutrition is not just their mums' problem
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (766+ words) Expert opinion from University of Otago - Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka Comment: The fatigue and everyday demands of caring for a baby are a familiar part of parenting for many families. For some whānau, this is compounded by financial pressure. In 2024 and…...
Pro-natalism, declining birth rates, and the choice to be child-free
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (592+ words) As the nursery rhyme goes, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage. But what if women don’t want the baby in the baby carriage? More and more, people are choosing to go against…...
Kiwi kids take a lot of antibiotics – here's why that's a problem
4+ mon, 1+ day ago (764+ words) Expert opinion from University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau Comment: You don’t have to read many Victorian novels to understand the toll infectious diseases took on children before antibiotics came along. Charles Dickens’ Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol) dies, most…...
Please don't feed your children to the AI beast
4+ mon, 3+ week ago (469+ words) Comment: Just the other day, I saw a social media post by a Wellington parent concerned about an early childhood centre putting images of children into AI to create ‘fun’ graduation pictures. The post also claimed many ECE teachers used…...