It is day 11 of lockdown for our family as we self-isolated a few days earlier than the Government suggested. Things are going well for us. We are all healthy, there is food in the pantry and we are adjusting to the new pace of life. It doesn’t seem too different for my husband and […]
Today we are living a different life from what we are used to. It kind of feels like the school holidays, except we don’t have a house full of teenagers, and I am not driving kids all over the countryside. School was closed quite suddenly so online schooling isn’t set up yet. One of my […]
When my kids first started school I would pick them up full of questions about their day. I knew that they were tired but I just couldn’t help myself. How was your day, who did you play with, did you eat your lunch? They weren’t very good open-ended questions, so obviously I didn’t get much […]
It was my son’s 16th birthday recently and he had a few friends stay over. They are a great bunch of guys with different personalities, but what they all had in common was that they liked to blow things up. A plan was hatched over pizza to light some cascades which were conveniently leftover from […]
Valentines’ Day is coming up, and well-meaning people will be following the media’s formula for making the day special. Heart-shaped chocolate, jewellery, a bouquet of roses or a sweet teddy bear. The promise of a happy recipient, romance and love are the messages marketers use. Unless of course, receiving gifts is not your valentines love […]
On my morning walk with my dog Milo, I heard the sounds of stressed-out parents in my neighbourhood. A result of the long summer holidays slowly coming to an end. I really enjoy the pace of the school holidays, and having my kids around. But it can be challenging. Parenting is hard. It’s hard when […]
Have you seen it yet? The eye roll when you crack a joke around your teen. Or have you felt the burn from the words “You’re so weird Mum,” simply because you asked your teen’s friend how their day had been? Well, if you haven’t yet, you will. Teenagers are desperately trying to fit in […]
‘I wish I could do that!’ ‘I could never do that.’ ‘One day I would like to try that’. What is your ‘that?’ And what is holding you back from trying it? I had been talking about starting an Aikido class for a couple of years now. But, I kept managing to talk myself out […]
Study leave has officially begun at our house, so I thought it was time to help my teen set up some good study habits as he prepares for his NCEA Level 1 exams. We all learn differently. Some people prefer silence and order, while others can listen to thrash metal while learning algebra. These top […]
A couple of summers ago, my family and I went camping at a place called Whatuwhiwhi in the beautiful Far North. We had borrowed our neighbour’s 1970’s pop up camper for the week, hoping it would be a little more comfortable than our tent – we were wrong. We parked at our site next to […]
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Hi I'm Robayne, a freelance writer and mum of two delightful teenagers. Parenting teens is quite the journey so I have created this space as a way to share stories and connect with others who are walking the same path. I have studied freelance journalism at the NZ Writers College and I create content over at Magnusson & Co. If you enjoy my blog and want to know when I post something new please subscribe to my newsletter.
