Health 80 - Adventures on the Floor

There's been a toy just out of her reach and she's...got it somehow, she's got herself there by sort of rolling or shoving...

– A father on his young daughter's physical development

Heater, fireplaces, anything that's a danger to her, she often picks up knives...

– A young mother on trying to keep her baby daughter away from hazards

I think exhaustion is the great enemy of good parenting.

– A mother comments on how tiring it is to parent a young child

I was one of 15 children and we were brought up with the health nurse, visiting on the maraes and that's where all the injections were given and the whole community went to the marae and the district nurses were there with grandparents, parents, cousins...there'd be hundreds of children all lining up for their innoculations. 

– A older Māori wahine on how her rural community relied on the public health nurse

I think you should feed for as long as you feel happy about it.

– A mother on breast feeding a baby past six months

The toddler learns by doing, so the dangerous things will have to hop a little higher.

– Presenter Lloyd Scott on keeping dangerous things out of reach for toddlers

I think a child does get a fair amount of food, it looks like everything is on the floor but he's had a couple of mouthfuls and as long as he seems to be well and happy in himself, it's not serious.

– A mother on not forcing a fussy toddler to eat their dinner

You can't teach them by shouting at them. They've got to learn by experience, and when they're ready to learn, they will, and you can't force them.

– A father of a toddler on toilet training

It's just a battle of egos a lot of the time...especially if you're tired, you know.

– A mother on life with a toddler

We don't like to admit it but I think we all sort of get really down sometimes when we think "oh I just want out and why did I ever think of having a child?".

– A mother discusses the mental and emotional demands of being a parent