Emily Writes

Parents Editor

Emily Writes is editor of The Spinoff Parents. She is a mother of two, the best-selling author of Rants in the Dark - From one tired mama to another, writer and speaker. He second book Is it bedtime yet? is out now in all good bookstores. Email her on emily@thespinoff.co.nz

Parents

Oct 27, 2020

Emily Writes: Bad Halloween ideas to entertain your little devils

If you're a parent looking for spooky activities to entertain your beastly offspring, Emily Writes has got your back.

MOE

May 26, 2020

Emily Writes: On coming 'home' to school and our community

'Standing on the hopscotch with the sun shining down, it felt like everything was right. And it hasn’t felt like that for a long time.'

Music

May 16, 2020

A brutal kind of therapy: Wellington band Giantess on their new break-up record

What's it like to grow an album over two years and then labour it during a lockdown?

Society

May 14, 2020

Emily Writes: The industries set to go off post-lockdown

In celebration of both level two day and budget day, Emily Writes puts on her business reporting hat to take a look at the winners of the post-lockdown economy.

Society

May 10, 2020

Emily Writes: Yes, marriage sucks, so why did I renew my vows?

With fewer couples than ever getting married, women are realising marriage is not all it's cracked up to be.

Parents

May 8, 2020

Emily Writes: The complete Mother’s Day gift guide for every kind of mum there is

Mother's Day is just around the corner and this year it will be different – no, not because of the pandemic.

Business

May 7, 2020

The dehumanising reality of working in customer service during a pandemic

Working in customer service has never been easy, but now it's pushing workers to the brink.

Parents

May 5, 2020

Covid-19 has only made it harder to be a midwife

On International Day of the Midwife, New Zealand midwives share what it’s like working through a pandemic.

Politics

Apr 30, 2020

Mental health first aid could be just what our country needs

New Zealand workplaces are training staff in mental health first aid to support employees and break the stigma.

MOE

Apr 23, 2020

Together, apart: Keeping kids connected under rāhui

Emily Writes watches her sons hold on to connections in isolation.

Parents

Apr 23, 2020

In their own words: Children talk about level four lockdown

At the beginning of lockdown Emily Writes spoke to children across the country about how they were feeling. Almost four weeks on, she checked in on them again.

Parents

Apr 18, 2020

Emily Writes: Parents can do lockdown learning at home too!

What does your existential crisis look like? Use crayons!

Parents

Apr 15, 2020

Emily Writes: You don’t need to turn your home into a lockdown school

Your kids will be fine without school for a few months.

Television

Apr 11, 2020

Emily Writes: The docos you should watch now you’ve finished Tiger King

Emily Writes runs down a list of addictive docos to sink your fangs into after your Tiger King binge.

Society

Apr 10, 2020

A meeting of NZ’s children on how to ruin the lives of parents in lockdown

'We must never forget out aim: to break the parents.'

Television

Apr 5, 2020

Emily Writes: Netflix’s Unorthodox is the uplifting television we need right now

Emily Writes looks at the lessons we can all learn from Netflix's new miniseries about a woman escaping a Hasidic Jewish community.

Parents

Mar 31, 2020

‘I need people to make sure I’m OK’: Emily Writes on how teens are coping with lockdown

Emily Writes talks to teens about how the level four restrictions are affecting them, and asks how they can be better supported.

Parents

Mar 30, 2020

Emily Writes: Why TV is the answer for working parents turned home-schoolers

Get the TV to watch your kids, when you can't watch them yourself.

Parents

Mar 26, 2020

Children talk to grown-ups about Covid-19

We asked children how they were coping - and what advice they had for adults.

Parents

Mar 21, 2020

Emily Writes: On being a parent in the Covid-19 era

The job is always hard enough. Here are some ways to think about how to handle it changing.

Society

Mar 17, 2020

Emily Writes: Down the rabbit hole with the Covid-19 conspiracy theorists

When people feel like they have no control over their lives – like in the midst of a global pandemic – the comforting certainty of conspiracy theories seems increasingly attractive.

Parents

Mar 12, 2020

Announcing Emily Writes Weekly, coming to an inbox near you

We're very excited to announce the launch of Emily Writes Weekly, a newsletter by Emily Writes, brought to you by The Spinoff.

Society

Mar 10, 2020

If only we saw other diseases the way we see Covid-19

The fear you carry over this virus is the fear those of us who have children with compromised immune systems carry all the time.

Parents

Feb 25, 2020

Emily Writes: Six months on from Ward One

'Over the last six months I've realised there are always more tears.'

Television

Feb 23, 2020

Hannah Tamaki can’t dance away from her past

Emily Writes explains why the religious leader and aspirant politician has no place on the show.

Society

Feb 20, 2020

Emily Writes: The lies we tell ourselves about the sexual abuse of boys

We need to challenge those who minimise the actions of rapists based on the gender or ages of their victims, argues Emily Writes.

Television

Feb 16, 2020

Emily Writes: The Goop Lab’s orgasm episode fails to reach a satisfying climax

Emily Writes reviews the now infamous orgasm episode of the even more infamous Netflix show The GOOP Lab.

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