Story: Parenting
Page 5 – Parenting advice and organisations
Family support
Family is an important source of advice and assistance for New Zealand parents. In a 2007 survey respondents identified family and whānau as their most important source of advice and support. People who live far away from their family members often feel this separation keenly once their children are born.
Neighbourhood help
Early settlers Sarah and Danforth Greenwood had nine children when they arrived in New Zealand in 1843. The 10th was born in 1846. A letter written by Sarah to her mother describes one way she dealt with the difficult task of raising so many children without family support: ‘I am in quite a quandary just now about weaning Baby which I find to be indispensable but she is now 13 months old, feeds chiefly on me … and has a famous will of her own, so that without nurse or nursery I don’t know how we will manage. I think I must send her to my neighbour and washerwoman, Mrs Bere, for a few days.’1
Parenting organisations
Parenting organisations enable parents to learn about parenting and to share their experience with others. Parenting organisations mainly used to train mothers in infant and early childhood care. By the 2000s they focused on advice and support for both parents on a range of matters. In a 2007 survey just under half of parental respondents with children under five attended parenting classes, programmes or presentations. Parents of young children were more likely than other parents to seek advice from parenting organisations.
Plunket
One of the best-known parenting organisations is Plunket (originally the Society for the Promotion of the Health of Women and Children), which was founded in 1907. Plunket nurses made home visits or ran clinics, and offered instruction, advice and support. Mothers joined local Plunket committees, which gave them opportunities to learn more about children from their peers and to socialise. In the 2000s Plunket also facilitated fathers’ groups.
Parents Centres
Parents Centres New Zealand was established in 1951, in part to help mothers form close emotional bonds with their babies. The organisation established some of the first antenatal (before birth) classes in New Zealand, and talked to expectant parents about natural birth, adjusting to parenthood and children’s psychological development. Parents Centres remained influential in the 2000s, and in 2009 had 51 branches across New Zealand.
Playcentre
Playcentre arose in the 1930s and 1940s. Playcentres offer play-based learning for preschoolers. Parents participate as helpers and can learn about child development and parenting. The centres provide an important space for parents to meet and share their parenting experience. The organisation also publishes a number of child education and parenting books.
Women are more involved than men. A 1976 survey of Playcentre members found that men accounted for 0.4% of session helpers. In 2007 the number of fathers who were session helpers was 3.1%, though this was much higher than the percentage of paid male caregivers in early childhood centres. In 2010 there were 512 Playcentres in New Zealand.
Parents organising themselves
New Zealand parents also organise themselves, often around particular issues like sole parenting. In the 1970s Joss Shawyer, a sole mother and founder of the Council for the Single Mother and her Child, published the book Everything a single parent needs to know. It included advice on housing, income and legal issues. This was unusual as parenting books then focused on childcare and health.
In the 2000s websites provided parents with up-to-date advice about legal matters, housing and income, some specifically for sole parents. Many websites were run by parents for parents. The proliferation of these websites shows that parenting is a diverse experience, and New Zealand parents seek advice and support in multiple ways.
The New Zealand Families Commission
In 2004 the New Zealand Families Commission was established. The commission has advocacy and research functions, and through its website and staff offers advice and support to parents on many issues.
Parenting experts
Some home-grown parenting experts have gained a high public profile. Plunket founder Frederic Truby King was widely known in the 20th century. From the 1970s University of Waikato psychologists Jane and James Ritchie were influential in the movement towards positive parenting and less use of physical discipline. Prominent figures in the 2000s included psychologist Nigel Latta and Parents Inc. founders Ian and Mary Grant, who regularly appeared on television and radio.
Media
Until the 1970s most parenting books and magazines targeted mothers. They focused on topics such as child hygiene and management, discipline, baby talk and favouritism. In the 1970s parenting advice books began focusing more on children’s emotional and developmental needs, how mothers could stimulate children’s intellect and creativity, and how fathers could be playful companions. In the 2000s advice was for both parents and was often about the different needs of children at different ages. Radio and television programmes on parenting were popular.
