I’ve been asked to reflect on why I chose to be a midwife. I wonder, if perhaps I never really chose it – but it chose me. An…
Dreams help us to decide which actions to take next, which attitudes to shift, which people to spend time with. Dreams ebb, flow and transform over time and…
Blended families are complicated. They always include drama from somewhere, whether it’s an adjusting child, a bitter ex, family court battles or child support, it’s all stressful and…
I didn’t dream this.
School lunches… I can hear you groaning from here. They are one of those chores that causes a lot of worry and stress.
I read an inspiring interview with Australian Kim Graham Nye, co- founder of GDiapers, in Conscious Company, a magazine promoting business with a mission. Kim and her husband,…
After 30 years of marriage raising three of our own children and taking in two foster children with all its ups and downs, our nest was finally empty.
As part of our ongoing Side Hustle Series, we meet Grace Xue – founder of Lighthouse At-Home Childcare. Partly in response to the needs of her own child,…
Is it ever too late to follow your dreams? What was your first dream for yourself? I’ve been surprising my middle-aged mummy self with a whole new way…
Our young teens often ‘feel’ like adults, but as parents, we habitually still treat them like kids. The fact is, they are still ‘kids’ in some respects, but they…
I had the pleasure of going to the Kidz Stuff theatre performance of The Princess and the Pea. Mr 4 came along to give me his expert opinion…
The cows and sheep think Farmer McPhee should stop frowning and start frisking. But Farmer McPhee just wants to get some sleep! Then one moonlit night, something changes…A…
A real fruit bite! Mother Earth is excited to announce a brand new lunchbox snack for kids – Fruit Bites! Made with real fruit and crispy rice, Fruit…
Keep Clean This Spring with Dettol Nothing quite beats the feeling when you’ve just stepped out of the shower. Now you can help keep that just-showered spring freshness…
The best New Zealand poems for children, collected by star New Zealand poet Paula Green and illustrated inventively by Jenny Cooper. This exciting collection is truly a must-have…
We have three packs each containing the four latest books from Lonely Planet Kids, including: – The Lonely Planet Kids Travel Book – How to Be an International…
In a past life, I was an English teacher and I always loved teaching the great classic To Kill a Mockingbird. It has so much depth and resonance…
Monster High: Boo York, Boo York releases on DVD on 23 September and we have 5 copies to giveaway! The ghouls of Monster High are invited to Boo…
Clean up your vegie patch and get ready to get growing great vegies in the Yates Spring Vegie Growing Challenge. Be in to win one of two Yates…
You have the chance to win 1 of 5 Tubing Passes at Snowplanet. This is a great way to spend time on the snow with the kids. With…
New specs for your little dreamer! Now showing at Specsavers – all your Disney favourites. With glasses featuring characters from Frozen, Cars, Star Wars, Toy Story and more,…
Spring is in the air and it’s time to brighten up the home to welcome in the warmer months. If you’re looking to redecorate your child’s bedroom then…
Linden Leaves Gold Range Put yourself in time out! Creating moments of luxury and self-pampering during your day are essential for our emotional wellbeing. New Zealand Skincare company…
A MONSTROUS TASTE SENSATION! Pow! A new range of delicious and nutritious bite-sized rice cakes add an almighty flavour punch to the snack aisles, and they’re available now!…
Do you want a change from Disney princesses and superheroes? I know as a Mum of two young kids (6 and 9) that what my children see on…
The Springfree medium oval trampoline maximizes the space in your backyard – it features plenty of jumping room and leaves you with yard space to spare. It has…
T is for Taniwha is a Kiwi themed colouring-in book with a picture for each letter of the alphabet.
What happens when a very large dinosaur just can’t stop himself dancing, even though the little tiny dinosaurs need safe areas to play in? Brachio tells the tale…
Kids’ activities can be a pretty big part of some families’ lives. And they can have an impact on the whole family – not just the children. This…
We’ve recently discovered that our baby hammock was the subject of a University of Auckland research project last year. The research looked at whether using the hammock might cause impaired…
Got a junior All Black around your house? This sticker and activity book in one has more than 40 stickers and 16 activities to test how big of…
Inspired by our favourite grown up frames, the new “Born to Be” collection by Clearly’s exclusive line, Zooventure, perfectly encapsulates what it is to be a kid: fun,…
From the book’s blurb: One rainy afternoon, Hadleigh spies a rainbow. He heads off outside to see if he can catch it. No matter how hard he tries,…
The CARES harness is an ingenious little contraption that attaches on to the seatbelt and seat to transform an aeroplane seatbelt into a four point harness similar to…
Win one of five DVD copies of Barbie in Rock ‘n Royals! Get ready to rock! In this upbeat musical, Barbie™ stars as Princess Courtney, a modern princess…
Parents will agree that when it comes to food, it can be a daily battle to get kids to willingly eat something that is healthy and good for…
The New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority (NZBA) is calling for stronger workplace policies for nursing mothers in a bid to improve national breastfeeding rates once mothers leave hospital.
JillE Books is a brand new publishing imprint which has been launched by NZ owned and operated educational publishing house, Global Ed. One of the new release titles…
Father’s Day always brings a smile to my face – and a little bit of happy chaos too! Last year, my two decided to surprise Dad with a…
In I can’t Imagine How That Happened, by Aimee McNaughton, Meg and Grandpa go camping, and Grandpa’s teasing and practical jokes always end with him saying, ‘I can’t…
The Spirit of Adventure Trust provides one of the best and most unique youth development programmes in New Zealand.
DoNoHarm sells NZ made, natural/organic skincare, cosmetics and products for the whole family! We are giving away a prize package worth $115.00 which includes a Be Kind to Baby…
There are so many things you can do with empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls, it’s just a case of choosing something, or working through them all!…
High quality Merino sleep sacks made in New Zealand from New Zealand Merino.
It’s the second-to-last day of school and Dani’s so happy she could write a book about it! In fact, that’s exactly what she’s done, although it’s not quite…
Changing the World is Child’s Play is a lovely little book designed to help parents make the most of everyday interactions with their children by turning them into…
The Uniden baby monitor is a video monitor that can connect to your computer or TV and can even be Skyped. It has a colour monitor as well…
Tonight Dad wants to show his son something very special: the universe. Of course, they can’t possibly embark on such a daring adventure unprepared, so they wrap up…
Happy Days! Introducing Sweet Scoop – the hottest new sweet station to hit supermarket shelves, delivering an unforgettable sweet experience that will take you back to yesteryear! Sweet…
APRA AMCOS New Zealand this week release ‘MusicBox 2015’ – a selection of songs from the New Zealand Children’s Music Awards. Aotearoa’s native dinosaur, the beauty of bugs…
A washable and reusable silicone food pouch, the Sili Squeeze is designed to provide an easy way to carry and feed purees and other smooth foods to your…
Seeker is a book by Arwen Elys Dayton about a young girl Quin who has trained most of her life to become a seeker. Yet, on the night…
A Skillful Warrior is the sequel to A Necklace of Souls by R.L. Stedman. I loved A Necklace of Souls, so much so that when I met R…
I am passionate about food and health but I don’t expect my kids to be. I know I wasn’t when I was a kid.
When you think about how passionate you are about your family, ask yourself this question: “What are the three most important investments you could make for your family?” …
Just over 2 years ago, I became a single dad with shared care of my then 1-year-old daughter. My journey to parenting in ‘1 Player mode’, as I call…
As a mum I want the best for my kids and one of the most basic ways to ensure they get the best out of life is to…
As a young mother way back in 1969 I simply could not have done without my mum to help me in so many ways. From a baby that…
One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the ability to be mindful – to be still and be in the moment. Learn about mindfulness…
Passion is an interesting word, and somewhat over-used these days, as you might realise when faced with the dictionary definition: passion, aside from its sexual meaning, is defined…
How does your family move together? Is family time also TV/couch time? Did you know that there is an epidemic in our society that is causing sickness and…
Holidays can be great times for reconnecting with our families and reinvigorating our passion for spending time together; whether we’re heading out of town, spending time with others…
David Stendl-Rast is a very wise man. He gave a TED talk all about happiness. It was a simple exploration of a question that dogs modern thinking. How…
Do you remember as a 7-year-old being mesmerised watching someone shoot the goal, singing in front of 1000s, or drawing a doodle on a page that looked like…
My eight year old daughter has been having a really tough time handling her emotions lately, particularly anger. She has always been a sensitive girl and somewhat reactive…
So surely I can’t be the only mum out there who has wondered “Can I make a themed cake myself or do I really have to pay $150 – $200 for something…
Becoming a mum was the ultimate experience for me. It was something I always knew I would love. I have a medical condition that made it difficult for…
One of the hardest decisions we ever had to make as a family was to withdraw our 8 year old daughter from school and embark on our adventure…
Did you ever hear “wait until you are a parent?” It took becoming a parent for me to grasp the scope of commitment and sacrifice, expense and rewards…
When our teens are going through a rough time it really is hard to think about anything else. Sometimes nothing is actually said but their misery or silence tells you…
Invented by clever Kiwi mum, Alana, Mud Mates Children’s Craft aprons are designed to protect your children’s clothes, keeping them clean through all sorts of messy play. If you’ve…
I’ve already read “We were liars” by E Lockhart which I really enjoyed so I started reading the disreputable history with a lot of expectation. And I wasn’t…
A follow up to “Rosie to the Rescue”, Rosie’s Radical Rescue Ride is another DairyNZ book to educate children on the workings of dairy farms. Filled with familiar…
Set your spirit of adventure free with this lavishly illustrated trip around the world. Explore seven continent maps, packed with hundred of activities and challenges to inspire armchair…
Te Reo Māori is one of New Zealand’s three official languages (the other is New Zealand Sign Language) and Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is a great opportunity to…
Nickelodeon’s award winning reality series Camp Orange is back for its eleventh season! Four sibling duos compete in the slimiest, smelliest, and most seriously twisted challenges yet, with…
We have five copies of global travel authority Lonely Planet’s new book, “Travel with Children” to give away. From visiting Santa’s home in Lapland to spotting penguins in…
Win a copy of T is for Taniwha – the colouring book for Kiwi kids. Put aside those generic colouring books, Kiwi kids now have their own book…
Inner Fire is Rachel Stedman’s second novel. It is about a teenage girl Corinne who, in addition to all the normal challenges of adolescence, can’t get angry! When…
Make water more exciting with SodaStream! The SodaStream Play was created by world-renowned designer Yves Béhar, it’s at home in the most stylish of kitchen spaces with its…
Imagine a City tells the story of two children travelling with their mother by train to a fantastical city and the things that they do and see while…
We were looking for a trampoline for our family, something that was safe, well made and would last for a long time. After some great research, based on…
2015 marks the 10th anniversary of Gecko Press, a small NZ publisher who specialises in good quality children’s books from New Zealand and around the world. Each title…
Win new Precious Eco Nappies and have a clear conscience with your nappy choice and all the convenience of a disposable! Precious Eco Nappies are 75% biodegradable and…
Floradix Formula is still New Zealand’s favourite iron tonic after more than 40 years, according to the latest market figures*. Natural and highly absorbable, the iron tonic has…
Win the self-help parenting book called, ‘BabyCues – Nurture with Nature, Prevent and remedy colic, reflux, lactose and dairy overload, Nature’s logical answers’ by Philippa Murphy, a postnatal…
The New Patrol by Andy McNab is a thriller set in Afghanistan. The central character is returning for a second tour to Afghanistan, but his previous experiences don’t…
Be in to win one of two Bathroom Safety Prize Packs from Dreambaby® each valued at $56.92. Each prize pack includes: 1 x Dreambaby® Premium Nail Clippers with…
Win one of five DVD copies of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water. SpongeBob SquarePants, the world’s favourite sea dwelling invertebrate, comes ashore to our world for…
Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life explored the possibility of infinite chances, as Ursula Todd lived through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. In A…
Giving up alcohol for a month to be part of the Dry July fundraiser, doesn’t mean you are admitting to having a problem. On the contrary, it usually…
I suspect I’m not the only one who takes hundreds of photos of my kids, only for so many of them to languish somewhere on my computer files.…
Cheeky elves Filly and Pilly have fallen on hard times after shooting wrapped on The Hobbit. Lucky for them, Gordon the cobbler is looking for some help in…
Hokia Ki Nga Maunga (Return to the mountain) is the enchanting story of a young boy named Rima who needs the help of the Maori god of the…
“How to Build a Girl” is Caitlin Moran’s first novel for adults. If you’ve read her books “How to be a Woman” or “Moranthology” you probably know whether…
Feyre is a hunter and lives on the edge of starvation as she tries to provide for her family. However, while out hunting she kills a fairy who…
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon is the sequel to The Bone Season. It follows Paige Mahoney after she’s escaped from Sheol I and has returned to London…
Win one of five DVD copies of PAW Patrol: Marshall and Chase on the Case! PAW Patrol is a CG, action-adventure pre-school series starring Chase (the German Shepherd…
The Bone Season is set in a parallel world with a lot of similarities to ours but where clairvoyance is real and being discovered as clairvoyant is a…
Good news, kiwi families! Visits to your family doctor will soon be free for children under 13. From 1 July 1 2015, all children under 13 are eligible for…