What Are New Zealand Kids (REALLY) Like? Running Wild or Meek & Mild? 

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This video makes me feel more grateful. I'm disabled so my kids have had to be very independent. They set alarms, make school lunches, have a bath if they want and walk to school. And they started learning to cook the family dinner and bake at age 10. But we are also very close and spend a lot of time together.

Growing up in NZ no matter which part of the country you live in but as soon as them street lights came on you knew what time it was. Home time. As long as you were out the door and off to school on the morning and home when the street lights were on then you made your own fun and done your own stuff creating memories with friends. On another note family extended further than what blood runs through your veins. Everyone the came through your dood was either uncle, aunty or cousin. And those same relationships run strong today. I'm a 32 yr old Māori male. Wouldn't change the way I grew up for anything. You have helped me realize how much we as NZers take growing up here for granted.

I am from NZ and I realize how blessed I was to be brought up here. Listening to people talk about home is an eye opener and really good to hear others perspective on OUR slice of heaven.

For me growing up in New Zealand, we had grandparents and great grandparents living at our house at different times. When I was Intermediate aged I came home from my paper run to see two of my great grandma's, my great aunt and my grandad sitting in the lounge drinking tea and chatting. I built really close relationships with my great grandparents as they lived closer to us then our grandparents did.

I grew up in NZ, am proud Kiwi, and by the age of 14 knew I needed to find a bigger world. Your take on developing independence and the confidence to engage people in authority is absolutely true and so deep that we do not know it is different elsewhere. My big OE took me to London. I feel in love with it. I noticed that my coworkers were surprised by how familiar I was with my managers and especially with the CEO at a smaller company that i worked for. But I was always respectful, and I think those managers found it refreshing. There is a downside to all of this. There can be a casualness to Kiwi’s approach to work relationships and an assumption that all people are honest. Workplace politics exist in NZ to some degree I am sure… but we think if you are honest and work reasonably hard everything will work out. I have found in the US that is not always the case, especially as you get into senior positions. And that is a hard lesson to learn late in life. We might need to find ways to continue to instill the confidence and positive disposition that you talked about while readying people for a tougher world than we grew up in.

As a Kiwi living in the UK it has driven me round the twist needing an invite to go to peoples places . Much prefer the casual easy going way of dropping in . Really love your Vlogs!

Here in nz a lot of your 1st 2nd 3rd cousins are your first friends you have.. SHOUTOUT TO ALL MY COUSINS THAT WERE MY FIRST FRIENDS✌🏽👌🏽

Years ago I worked with a guy who lived on the Gold Coast (QLD) he took a year leave with out pay, worked for 6 months in the UK and traveled the other 6 month around Europe and USA, when he came back he said to me that his parents (originally from Europe) said that they had found heaven on earth and why would you want to leave and live anywhere else, after a year away he finally understood what his parents meant and told me he would never leave again. I guess it's the same with Kiwi's in NZ, they travel all around the world, realise how good NZ was and come back, then happily settle down finally realising how good their life is.

As a Maori kid growing up in Aotearoa, in my whanau we were taught from a very young age about respect, manners, discipline and the importance of FAMILY. To honour and obey your elders and the importance of knowing and learning our language, culture and the connection that we have as Indigenous Maori with our land, rivers, lakes, oceans and mountains. We were taught that you treat others as they would treat you and we would NEVER call people who are older by their first name because it is disrespectful to do so in our culture which is why we say Matua... or Whaea... If we were naughty all our parents or elders had to do was give us the look (look of you better cut it out or wait till you get home) and if we got the look for the 2nd time it was 'Ok we have to go now!!'...lol It's now 2021 and we still teach our kids, grandkids and great-grandkids those very same lessons and they have all grown up with honour, respect and to be good law-abiding citizens!!

Always home before dark in nz ring home if going to be late or stay for tea. Often feed if at a mates place. Weekends home by dark or if u were hungry u go home. On ya bike to friends place to see if they could go to the park with you or a 10km bike ride. When about 8or nine. We would go exploring the countryside or by the river off fishing good times great memories

That was wonderful. My childhood was as a kiwi kid before heading to Australia at 21 yrs. My Aussie friends would say that they liked it when I would just turn up on their doorstep out of the blue. I loved the freedom and independence of my childhood. It was so adventurous and mischievous at the same time.

Hi Liz... Generally..we never even thought to ring a friend and make an appointment to visit. If you didn't know the person very well, then yes, we would call first but mainly to see if they were home and felt like a visitor. That's just what we grew up with. Mum would quite often send us off to a neighbour and tell her to put the kettle on, she will be there in 10 minutes. kids would just turn up to play and we would, in turn, just turn up to their place to play as well. I hope NZ never changes as my kids were so independent, breaking their necks to go flatting at 16 -18 yrs of age once they had a job of course. Parents knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later, so we didn't grieve too much, knowing full well, that if they couldn't afford their groceries one week they would make out they missed us terribly so they could get a free home cooked meal and maybe score a load or 2 of laundry..... Love your channel so much.. there's no one better at this...

When I was in England I remember the look of my English friends faces 😳when I'd just drop in. I learned not to do it but it took a while.

Not all teachers are called by their first name. However, most schools give teachers the choice of matua/whaea or Mr/Mrs

I was always the uncle that would walk into a room,and if the kids weren't listening to who was telling them to do something,I would just have to come in and say" What did Nana, or uncle or Aunty just say!?" And they would move faster than Usain Bolt to get crap sorted.

The way you tell the story of the farm boy and his car has me cracking up because I have literally heard and had conversations just like this here 😅

Loved this! Thank you!! Can’t wait to move there! Our kids will still be young enough to benefit from the more relaxed NZ parenting style. ❤️

I grew up in NZ in the 1950s & 1960s, and lived and worked overseas for three decades before returning to NZ in 2021. I have enjoyed watching your vids on life and culture in NZ, but I think this particular edition in child-rearing on NZ probably goes a long way to explaining many aspects of kiwi culture. I remember when I was 3 or 4 years old it was common for me to take myself out for a walk around the neighbourhood or while visiting my grandparents in Carterton or my other grandmother in Newtown, Wellington (which was not a particularly salubrious neighbourhood in those days). I think this kind of freedom encourages independence and resilience. And we always had chores as children which gave us a good work ethic and helped us to develop a lot of skills. I remember making my first batch of scones at age 5 (under the supervision of my grandmother). We were encouraged to do things for ourselves, improvising as necessary (it is amazing what kiwis could do with a piece of number 8 wire). This gives kiwis a lot of confidence and a "can do" attitude that makes those kiwis who venture overseas very sought-after as employees. In Australia, for example, kiwis are very sought-after in the construction industry and the pastoral industry for their high productivity, Each year the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes statistics for income by nationality and NZers are the highest-earning in Australia (and the only immigrant group with a median income higher than the median income of native-born Australians). I have noticed different parenting styles in other places I have lived, and was shocked to observe that in some countries kids never seem to develop life skills because they grow up with maids and Ya-yas and consequently don't get to learn to do anything for themselves. They reach their 20s or 30s without learning to boil an egg or polish a pair of shoes. And of course they have no freedom to go out and explore by themselves in the way that I, as a kiwi kid, could go camping or tramping with my friends learning bushcraft and survival in the mountains and other parts of the great Aotearoa outdoors - learning not only how to cook our food but also how to catch our food. Of course, a few things were different back in those days: 1. There was a lot of smacking back then (both by parents and by teachers. Corporal punishment (strapping and caning) was commonly practiced in both primary schools and secondary schools). 2. Older people were addressed as Mr _________, Mrs ________________ or, if they were your parents friends, as Uncle _______ or Auntie ____________, I grew up with a lot of "uncles" and "aunties" to whom I was not actually related. 3. Sunscreen was not commonly used until the 1970s. Maybe there wasn't such a big hole in the ozone layer back in the 1950s and 1960s. When I was 6 years old my mother died, after which I became the kid that was raised by the whole village. People were very kind and I have much to be grateful for. I had to go overseas to seek employment (I handle most things in life very well, but unemployment isn't one of them) so my daughters finished their high school overseas and I have grandkids born in various countries. But I'm pleased that 5 of them are having the benefit of a NZ childhood. And the others are growing up in Australia where childrearing is not so different (except they don't get to walk around with bare feet like kiwi kids do).

Thanks so much for having me! x

My kids, now aged from 28 to 35, all called their teachers by their first names at primary school so it’s been a thing for a few decades now. It certainly wasn’t when I was growing up though!

Catching up old vids. Awesome 🎉

As an independent 17 year old,I had a big motorbike,and a girlfriend that lived out of town (Rotorua),I would always tell my dad where I was going,and left him a phone number where he could ring me if he needed to,if I couldn't get a number,I wouldn't go. It was a sacrifice I was willing to take for my dad. My folks divorced when I was 10,my siblings and I wanted to stay with our dad,but got constant love and the best influences from both of them.

That reminds me my friend and I, girls used to make rafts with corrugated iron, rivets and duct tape. Then we make a picnic and went down the local stream. It was so fun. We would also go camping down the other side of their property for the weekend and cook all our food on a camp fire, just us kids.

as a kid growing up in late 60s here... it was always for close friends of my parents it was always uncle and aunty ****, and for less close people it was Mr or Mrs ***. And as a kid you would stop in at mates place and say can Keith come out to play ...then we were off on our bikes for the day. When we were older it was drive to mates house and if they weren't home we would drive to the next one etc till we found someone home lol

We have 11 kids(all grown up) and currently have care of 5 grandies, three of who are under 5yo, quite common for us to have one or two extras for a night on weekends,whether it's school mates or neighbour going away for a night, we hardly notice the extras, they just blend into the family. Awesome topic Liz, xx

As a Kiwi - The things you find weird, I find weird that it's not normal lol

Arranging to visit even as adults seems to be a British thing, as a kiwi i don't worry about just dropping on my friends and if they are busy they just need to say....only with good friends though

My nan never saw us during the summer. Every day my sisters and I, and at least 6 cousins who lived nearby (it truly was a village) would go sell bottles to buy chips, drinks and biscuits, raid the numerous fruit trees and then park up at the lake with the horses. We'd get home just before dark, turn the outside lights on and play outside till 9pm. And pretty much ANYONE in the village could discipline you.

All I ever wanted to do as a kid was move away from Taranaki. I've lived and worked all over the globe for 26 years now and thinking its time to come home.

We are from South Africa and are in the proses of immigrating to New Zeeland. We have 3 BEUATIFUL boys aged 3 (Twins) and 5. Honestly I cant see a future for our kids in SA. You have been talking about kids playing outside - here, we cant allow our kids to play outside because they are not safe. Walking to school or a shop is a BIG NO GO. So hopefully we will see New Zeeland soon and give our kids a future they deserve.

For a relatively recent immigrant your guest has a distinct kiwi accent

South Africa at present is somewhere between the scenarios you are raising with UK vs NZ. I have 3 kids who range across all school levels. We live in the northern suburbs in Cape Town. The kids here call the early learning teachers by their first names and speak up in conversation, but at the same time show great respect for adults. I think it's more a case of they recognise that they learn from adults and that the adults carry the knowledge and experience and particularly when they are younger, are the ones that help to sort things out. That respect is generally part of South African culture. Parents still spank in South Africa (though less so) even though it is banned, and schools have completely stopped corporal punishment since about 20 years ago. The youngsters from 4 years old are dropped at school in the mornings. They hop out of the car with their backpacks and masks and go inside and hang their jackets and backpacks up and go out to play before the first lesson. For pre-primary, the kids are collected at school. From mid-primary, there are many kids who walk to school and walk home. This is given that the school is typically within 2km of their home. Compared to when I was growing up, there are fewer kids that play in parks, but that is also likely due to television, computers and gaming systems being everywhere these days and keeping them indoors. We make a point of limiting their time on electronic devices. My kids play outside at home for at least 2 hours every week day, and longer on weekends. As Jen has mentioned, South Africa is a far cry from what it used to be pre-1990s. Crime is absolutely rampant and kidnappings, child-rape and murder, and human trafficking have become prevalent under the, sadly, corrupt ANC government, and with a corrupt and generally lazy police force. We are also looking at moving to NZ over the next year or so.

our daughter lives in Ireland and that’s her home now galway bay such a beautiful place I could live there we visit for 3 months at a time love it

It's just so amusing when visitors come here and decide that the sun isn't as hot as Spain or Greece and so they can go without sun screen. Every day in summer we are told the burn time ,it's usually around 15 minutes. I wouldn't consider going outside without a hat and sunscreen.

Kia Ora I'm a Kiwi I clicked on one of your video's '7 Typical NZ Ways " (that you can't help but adopt') just curious I guess but I find your vids very interesting more than I thought I would actually. This is the 3rd one in a row I've watched. Bit of a binge Lol. Anyway it's good to get other peoples perspective on NZ because we don't generally concern ourselves with how we are perceived. Maybe some do.. But it does help to understand other people better which has got to be a good thing. That's all for now keep up the good vids. Chur!!

You might have done this but would love to see a video from your kids on living in NZ.

"what can I do for you Liz?"!! LOL!!! The NZ wild ones are the greatest!!!

In the 80s and 90s in nz schools we called the teachers Mr, Mrs, Miss then there second name and in high school it was miss and sir

Yes I love collabs!

Liz can I ask where you bought your necklace from ?. Love it! X great video

Somethingels is the RU-vidr based in Takapuna from SA who came to NZ with whanau in 2019.

Cant believe I will say this but . . . . "Back in the day", here in NZ, once we were taught how to cross the road safely and about road safety both at home and primary school, we could go to school and back by ourselves, at times we will go with our friends, at home when we went out with our friends we were told to return back when the street lights came on before it got too dark, if we got into trouble then the strap or wooden spoon on our bums was commonplace, sadly when the govt came up with the Anti-smacking law, they associated discipline with family abuse - SMH. When my niece was taught about the Anti-smacking law, she started to misbehave like crazy, and would always say that if we touched her then she would call the cops and have us put in prison, one time there was a screaming match between her and her grandmother, I intervened and had a shouting match with her, both of us on different sides of the room, never berating but trying to get her to see reason, when her volume lowered then so did mine and I talked WITH her, not to or at but with, and she changed from being a scoundrel to actually showing respect, I never needed to raise my voice ever again.

I actually don't know if its for alot of families in nz. But i know alot of people in courage thier kids from a young age, teach their kids to venture out when they turn 18. Cause home is always their. But usually kids come home to settle down.

Funny how you mention about making a plan to see someone. I live in both U.K. and NZ and both places we basically just pop round. Nowadays we atleast call or txt to say we are on the way. Maybe it's a northern thing in the u.k. NZ it's really common, even more in the less populated areas rather than Aucks and Welly

Oh wow, when I was at primary school (mid 80s) we called our teachers, for the most part “miss” otherwise it was Miss Robertson. We weren’t on a first name basis. But yes, at the doctors, the doctors and nurses would talk to their patients on a first name basis. Enjoying your take on life in nz. Though you’re making me a bit homesick 🙃

I grew up in Australia and was one of six kids so my mother didn't have time to mollycoddle us by doing things like taking off our coats and shoes for us when we were totally capable of doing that for ourselves. I think it is a generational thing as well because I was born in 1961 and back in those days, kids were encouraged to be more independent.

A mother cat teaches her kittens to survive as soon as they are born ,so if anything should happen to her unexpectedly they would be able to fend for themselves . Why should humans be any different ? The main role of a parent is to grow happy healthy independant children then let go ........ (they will come back ,quite often with a litter of their own 😁 ) You had to be strong to survive here in the past and hopefully that spirit will remain .

My sisters live in England and are expatriate kiwis. When they were visiting NZ their English/Welsh husbands found it very strange that they would just show up at a relative's or friend's place unannounced. They were so used to having to have any visits prearranged.

👏👏👏

In regards to smacking in NZ, an anti-smacking law was put into place in 2007 that prohibited the physical punishment of children. I think before that it was fairly normal or I guess more common to discipline kids. But there were heaps of issues with child abuse and stuff so they decided to put the ban into legislation. I was 11 when the law changed but definitely got my fair share of smacks pre-2007.

Smacking at home and physical punishment at school NZ was still allowed in the late 70s early 80s when I was at school. We had a boys discipline master and a girls one and you could be sent there if you misbehaved - "normal" teachers wouldn't hit you though (although they did in my father's generation.

I love kiwis because they are so easy going and the Maoris are absolutely beautiful

casual play is the norm all over nz

Hahaha a couple of funny sunscreen stories down under. A black friend was visiting from Europe, offered her sunscreen, ofc she refused because she's never needed it. She got a bad burn, and never refused again. Another time I was staying in a hostel in Melbourne, a bunch of Brits walked out in the morning right past the free sunscreen... They were almost purple in the evening.

We had corporal punishment at school when i went to school we either the strap or cane but it was like a badge of honour getting the cane by some of us and we use to give the teacher ratings who could cane the hardest.you had to bend over the seat and hold the legs atleast thats how they did it at my high school.

Is what your saying about children being more independent and being safe to do so, still relevant in 2024? Thank you, love your content, mrs and I looking to take our little boy to NZ this year .

Can't help but think how lucky NZ are to have two such amazing woman call NZ home. Both beautiful, strong laid back ladies.

Spanking, smacking is actually disciplining naughty or disrespectful children. In the 60s 70s we as kids use to get disciplined with mums wooden, the vacuum or jug chord which I know sounds harsh but that taught us to never lie or disrespect our elders or law enforcement or we would absolutely get it from our dads!

It wasn't always a no hitting ban... I used to get the ruler at school in my time... Now it's no smacking law

Nice comments on Kiwi parents thanks because I am one I have 6 Kids (long story but only 3 are actually genetically mine the rest are chosen) Anyway now I am a grandparent so have 3 of my kids with kids :) Yes Kids are free range here more than elsewhere though I think that is slowly changing for no real reason apart from I guess people have fewer kids now so every one is more important. (its a joke people with a basis in truth) what I was allowed to do far outstretched what my kids could and thier kids even less so. On the free range thing I think the bigger the city the less free range. Best compliment you can give a parent is that their kids are great polite respectful fun loving people when the parents aren't around which is what you were saying there re the visitors being respectful, that farm lad is a credit to his family for sure. That is an important Kiwi family credo, you are a representative of this family when you are away from home. Another thing my wife and I and hope most parents make a point of knowing where your kids are who they are with and what they are doing ALL THE TIME even if they are free range. OH cool story my daughter was having a bad day with her 2 daughters who were just tired and it was time to go home anyway she looked at me and asked "was I like that" I replied 'Yup, you were" her only response was "sorry"

i wish i lived in new zealand.

My childhood was in a subarctic region of Canada, in a French Canadian family. We were always expected to be independent and self-reliant. Past the age of ten you were supposed to be able to cook, do your own laundry, survive in the bush.. pretty much anything expected of an adult. And you were expected to have common sense and not whine about facing challenges. Never heard of anyone being escorted to school or being supervised by adults when out of the house --- and we were in a wilderness full of bears and wolves, where it occasionally dipped to -50 C. I'm pretty happy about that part of my childhood. I can't imagine the kind of micro-managing ultra-control that seems to be the fashion today.

I grew up in the 70s just before the slip slop slap message became a thing,as a fair headed kid I suffered every summer getting extremely burnt,then spending days stretched out on my bed in agony waiting for my skin to peel off. Thankfully things have moved on and sun screen has become the norm. A bit off topic but I was wondering if you've done a video on food differences,I was thinking about it a few days ago as i get friends and family to bring Marmite whenever they come to the UK,I'm not a fan of the UK version,do you see the difference or even eat the Kiwi version of it?

I love videos like this, to remind me how lucky I am to be raising kids in Aotearoa

Spanking is now illegal in South Africa as well

I'm not unique, but all my extended family was in the England when I grew up, and I never met them till recently, as it was too expensive to visit. And most of the relatives my parents knew were either about to die or were already dead. There's still a couple still round. I think my parents got trapped here, not that I or they regretted being trapped in NZ at the time. Then that was only because of lack of money. My mother is Northern English, so maybe that's why she got me to tell her where I was going everytime I went out. I never thought about it if I'm honest, as that was normal to me. Same with ringing before I visited. I would, and still don't, turn up unannounced in most situations, and I always ring up to make sure it's OK. I'd have to be your next door neighbour, and know you quite well to turn up unannounced. I did use to take myself to school, from an early age of 5. Then my school was just down the road from us, so maybe that was why. I was also given a bit of pocket money, even before I knew how to count, to go down to the corner dairy, and get some lollies. I'm not sure if they gave me more lollies than I had money for, buas I had no concept of how much those coins were worth, yet I did it. We were living in Wairoa then. I wasn't allowed to ride a bike on the road till I was 8, but when I was allowed, they let me bike to school on my own. I was a 70s child, so until I was 12/13 peoples knowledge of the ozone hole was limited. It was about then that the realisation for need for sunscreen came in. Around 85/86 I think. I still don't wear sunscreen by default, unless I really am going somewhere I can't avoid the sun at. I tend to walk down the streets of NZ, seeking out the shade in summer, and limit my exposure to less than 10 minutes. Wellington Waterfront was the hardest to avoid the sun that I experienced in my life so far. I've almost been sunburnt there a couple of times. I also had, growing up, a curfew, around tea time, dinner, whatever you called the last meal of the day. If it was daylight savings I was allowed out again. Basically not allowed out after dark. I remember being smacked when I was 5, in the first few days of school, by my teacher. I won't tell you why, but it did take a few years to realise why, and I never forgot it. The strap was still in use till the mid to late 80s. I never got it, as I was a goodie two shoes, though I came close a couple of times. Things have really changed since then. You should have heard my late mother complain about how my brother was raising his kids, which he did a really good job on, with my sister in law. Mum believed in the occasional smack, which I don't remember her ever doing, but she mentioned her belief in it a few times to me. I'm the yougest, so maybe that was why I don't remember it happening to me. They were 8 in England when WWII started to give you an idea of their attitudes, though they were basically kinda old hippies. My family moved to NZ in 1959. Smacking wasn't illegal in those days. I could go on, but yeah that was a small snapshot of what I experienced. Oh and I have scares on my knees from falling off my bike a few too many times as I grew up.

I am 68 years old , we walked 2km to school and back to home every day , rain or shine bare footed, and when the ice was thick on the ground ,,,, we would look for fresh cow pats to warm our feet up as we walked to school , I was raised by my maternal grandparents ,,,,,, the only thing I was not allowed to do , was be late for milking the cows , we swam unsupervised in the Rangitaiki river , our back yard , front yard and everything as far as we could see or go to was fair game ,,,,,,,,as long as I was home to milk the cows

As a New Zealander the casualness of things hasn't changed much, generation after generation casualness is similar to how it used to be. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

I’m interested that you both ended up homeschooling. Did you find the NZ education system lacking?

I'm only 30 years old. But if I could chip in on the comments on each point as I'm watching this video Growing up in South Africa and still living here now. I grew up outside of my main city. It's a tiny little city but nonetheless I grew up outside of it for most of my life in small seaside suburbs and in those days we we did have much more freedom to come an go.as we pleased. To friends. To the beach. Walking home from school etc:. Now I would absolutely not let my child do that even if I was still living in those small suburbs. Times have changed even in the last 20 years by alot and its just not safe. Spanking... when I was growing up it was absolutely normal to get a hiding from parents and even now it's very normal to give children a spanking when they misbehave.. alot of controversy around it of course. Some people take it too far. When i grew up I would actually prefer it just because it was done and over and life went on. We did something wrong and were punished accordingly and knew there were consequences. Bottom line I was spanked on the occasion and I grew up perfectly fine with what I think is good morals and principles. It is amazing to see how children get brought up with independence and are taught to do things themselves. It was like that when I was young. It is somewhat not like that now.. the kids in South Africa are very different. Almost emotionally immature and the take a much longer time to grow up. Definitely the parents of course because the kids don't know any different. A foreign child of 10 years old would come here and probably wouldn't even connect with a typical south african 10 year old.(obviously not everyone) People just showing up without any planning beforehand. Drives me nuts 🤣. My fiance and I have a 16 month old boy. So we will be moving over as a small family and I am really looking forward to being able to grow and be independent and make our own decisions as best we can for just us. Definitely would not be happy about my boy moving back to South Africa and I personally don't think I would ever go back to South Africa even to visit. There is nothing that South Africa would be able to offer me (besides family) to make me go back on holiday. Sun screen is a big one for me.. even now I hate putting sun screen on(makes me sticky😅). I will have to get that into my head. Not calling a much older adult aunty or uncle feels extremely weird. All teachers here are called by their surnames. Miss so and so or Mr what ever (from what I've seen) my fiance is a teacher. All in all. New Zealand ticks all the right boxes for us, from opportunities to grow as a family to being able to actually explore and enjoy the country. My fiance and I will be able to have the chance to enjoy our lives better than ever. And even if that is all just a dream that may never happen what is most important is my boy will have a much better life and better opportunity in new zealand. Great video thanks Liz and Jen

In regards to discipline in New Zealand by smacking....in my time growing up as a kid in the 80's & being smacked for being naughty was a normal thing - i even remember back then joking with my brothers or some of my friends at school on who got the worse hiding for doing something really bad or really stupid.....to be honest we still joke about it now...lol

As I kid I got many a hidings and straps on the @rse ... (probably deserved it... lol), however a few years back there was a few child abuse cases (actually more than a few) was pretty disgusting really... As a kid, yip... "off to Craig's house..." or Craig and Jason would just turn up.. I had to be home when the street light came on... even as an Adult... just turn up to a friends place for a visit... and a coffee... if the home they are home if they are not they are not...

I am born and bred in NZ and had 4 children go through NZ schooling in West Auckland. It was not normal to call female teachers by their first name unless you put whaea in front of it as a mark of respect. Adult males were referred to as Mr "insert surname". In high school teachers were referred to as just Miss or Mr or Sir. In Maori culture it is disrespectful to address a respected elder e.g. teachers, aunties etc by just their first name.

having extra kids around the house is just normal in my culture ( Maori ) it's pretty common to leave home with all your kids to visit family and either leave one there or bring another home with you. We have a saying whanau whanau family family it loses the real meaning or intent in the translation' but basically, we are family we are one. As for nonrelated kids well I could walk into the living room and see kids I don't recognize playing with my lot it's just our normal

We use to be allowed to sack children here it changed after a couple of big publiced abused cases happen

I grew up in nz in the 80s and we got whacked by the teachers with a leather belt or a 1 meter wooden ruler, my teacher would drag me by my ear to the headmasters office, they made it illegal in the early 90s I think

I think the smacking is more of a generational thing. As a kiwi the stuff I hear from my parents, aunties and uncles you can tell how much it has affected them and why people are so against it.

Jen your accent is almost 🥝

its an age thing...i grew up in nz in the 80s.....got a boot up the backside from dad....i deserved it....it was the norm for our generation.....at school you got the kane pre 80s, then down graded to the strap on the hand......then the 90s happened and things drastically changed.....nothing wrong with a smack when its done with good purpose if you no what i mean......people confuse it with child abuse which is not what my parents were about.....they were from the old skool and as i grew older i respected them for teaching me a lesson with a smack......

Smacking is OK and I'm a New Zealander.

The anti smacking bill became law on the 21st June 2007 in New Zealand

we never wore shoesas kids in nz. and kids still dont love it

My family still don't use first names for adults. I'm 70 now. My children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, neices, nephews, grand nephews, nieces, cousins etc, still use titles, or aunty, uncle, or Mrs, Mr miss, whatever.. thats both sides. Moari and pakeha family both. 👪. However, all children are not shy to speak up and say all that's required to say on their behalf, and feel heard by the adults, while they give the respectful title. I love your show. I'm all for smacking, however, I never smacked my kids, but I've never been opposed to it. I think most my huge family aren't opposed to smacking, even though they managed to raise their kids without smacking, mainly because the kids are off having adventures and therefore not getting into strife. The do their chores then they are gone, and the village looks out for everyone's kids. Gives a kid a right scowlding if they play up on the beach, in the bush, or around town

So u guys just dont use New Zealands adjective?

Cmon we all clip the kids around the ears when theyre naughty

What's a mistake!? Its a lesson for next time😉

Try Japan. It is the best country for children.

You can smack your kid's you just can't go overboard, the law changed because a few kids had been killed and it was being used by many parents to vent frustration, instead of what it's meant to be, which is as a consequence of bad decisions, people think it's a hard and fast law but if your accused of child abuse by the child or anybody- police will investigate and decide wether you disciplined your child or abused them and what action should be taken, a few smacks on the bottom will not land you in jail, a palmerston north woman was charged and acquitted not long after the law was introduced, for taking to her son with a riding crop so there's definitely wiggle room, I would have thought a riding crop was going a bit far, being caned was abolished when I was in form 2 back in 88, but beating your kids was still alive and well. In primary we called teachers Mr and Mrs so and so, and at high school we called them sir and miss, we were also told to call adults we didn't know as sir and madem but madem didn't age very well, in my family you were only allowed to go to friends house if mum or dad had met the parents and we weren't allowed to go inside their house unless their parents were home, we had to be home before dark, my mum treated my friends better than she treated me😁 ...funny- my best friend in primary was English from a fairly well off family big flash brand new three story house all the star wars toys, my family was poor, had a shit house, no toys, we were from totally different worlds but both our parents treated us like their own and we even called them mum and dad, sleep overs were almost every weekend and we used to fight over who's house we would stay at, I always wanted to go to his mansion, eat roast, get pudding, family movie night where everyone got a bowl of lollies, general rich kid stuff, he always wanted to stay at my shit house, eat our shit food with no pudding, watch tv because we didn't even have a video player, but my old lady always took us fishing, eeling, spot lightning for possums and rabbits, lots of outdoor stuff that he just couldn't get enough off. Things have changed, my generation is more polite and well behaved, your right, kids these days are definitely more confident, there's still mostly good kids, but the bad ones are way worse, kids these days rightly or wrongly talk themselves up, whereas kids in my day didn't blow their own trumpets, I don't think it's that we lacked confidence - more that we were reserved because being a blowarse was frowned upon, times change, my mum would have gone to jail for life for the hidings we got, but she also raised two of my nephews in the new age anti smacking fashion which we love to passively aggressively give her shit about, passive aggressive because we're all pretty sure it's possible for her to loose her shit and revert back to her old self if we wound her up enough.... she'd probably have a heart attack at her age.

I has been made illegal in nz , not everyones choice.

Great show! However, smacking a kid in the year 2021 seems to only be the solution of the worst parents ever. What about a more creative way to raise your kids? Free advice to those parents in a desperate need to teach kids that violence is the way to solve their own problems: use your brain instead.