The Parent Squad

The Parent Squad

If it takes a village to raise a child, it must take a whole country to raise a family! Newstalk ZB’s Parent Squad helps to do just that. Joined by expert guests The Weekend Collective team delves into the complexities of Kiwi family life.

Episodes

July 4, 2026 36 mins

What happens if my child starts befriending or dating someone I'm really not a fan of. How do I protect them from getting played or getting into a toxic relationship?

When should we interfere with our children's personal lives? When and how do we put our foot-down and say "no, you can't hang out with this person"

How do we do that with respectful authority, that strikes a balance between making sure you're not ruling with an iron f...

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Founder of Crayon Stephanie Pow joins Tim Beviredge on Parent Squad to discuss how you should monitor your kids' pocket money. When's the right time to get them started? And how much control should parents have to veto kids' purchases?

But is it all up to parents to teach kids about cash? Or do schools have a responsibility to help out. 

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Paediatrician Maneesh Deva joins Tim Beviredge on Parent Squad to discuss the social media ban for kids under 16. One girl in the UK said she would simply stare at a wall without social media, but is that such a bad thing?

And what do teens need for positive brain development? And what should be dodged?

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Author and host of Real Life John Cowan joined Tim Beveridge to chat about whether you should teach your kids to drive or leave it to the professionals. 

And tips and tricks for if you decide to self-instruct your teens. 

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Have you ever considered why we tell our kids to 'be themselves' when sticking out from the crowd can make you the subject of bullying?

Umbrella Wellbeing CEO and psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland joined Tim Beveridge to chat about the balances of supporting our children and allowing them to stand on their own. 

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Parents are acting up on the sidelines of their children's games in the mighty Waikato leading to youth rugby league games cancelled last Sunday after reports of physical and verbal abuse in Hopuhopu.

Sport Waikato CEO Matthew Cooper said the problem is felt worldwide, with parents wanting to achieve through their children.

What behaviour is okay at your children's sports games? When does support cross into abuse?

MindWorks psychol...

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The cost of having or raising a child is often the most considered issue among couples planning to start or grow their family. 

It's not just the shopping trips for prams and cots and nappies - it's the income loss over the months of parental leave and the endless sick days once daycare starts up. 

Plunket estimates a medium-budget cost for raising a child for the first year comes to just under $16,000. That works out to ...

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There's a new trend sweeping through social media - when your child is lost in a tantrum or a pre-teen spiral, you call out for your imaginary helper named Jessica, and more often than not it will confuse them enough to stop them in their tracks. 

Distraction methods like this one have been used for years and years, but why do they work? 

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Doctors are seeing an increasing number of young people coming in with unexplained symptoms. 

The prominent ones parents are probably seeing most frequently are the random headaches, stomach aches, difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much. 

Parents will often treat their children with panadol and electrolytes, take their devices away before bed to avoid blue light, and hope the problem resolves itself.

But these are all c...

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You always hear stories about the different ways a person's childhood has had an ongoing impact throughout their life. 

There are some horrible stories out there, but it could even just be the way your parents would cook growing up, or how the way they would react to you relaxing results in habits that follow you into adulthood.  

So at the end of the day, are we all doomed to mess up our children in one way or another?&n...

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It's school holidays, and boredom is setting in...

While it can send parents into a bit of a spiral hearing their children complain about how bored they are all day long - being bored is one of those skills we all need to learn at some point. 

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Our children are becoming increasingly involved in politics and current events, and they're getting involved younger and younger. 

We want to support their interests, but the news can get pretty dark, and these kinds of events or protests always come with a risk of danger. 

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Social media giants Meta and YouTube have been found liable for deliberately designing their platforms to be addictive. 

We don't need to look too far into the details of this specific trial, because parents everywhere will have stories of their own to some extent, but how much of the blame falls on the parents? There are countless things in the modern world that young people risk becoming addicted to - they don't even have to...

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Most kids will take part in some kind of sport throughout their childhood. 

It's a great opportunity to keep them moving and allow them to burn off some energy, but how early should we be getting our children into these teams?

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Kids push limits - it's just what they do. 

From as early as the toddler years, it's completely developmentally normal for children to figure out just how for they can push their parents before a very clear line is drawn - but what about those times where behaviour you never would have imagined doing yourself as a child rears its head?

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Early childhood education is darn expensive. 

You want your kids to socialise, make friends, learn some basics - but it costs an arm and a leg. 

So how long can you put it off?

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Whether it's a friend, your own parents, or you may be going through it yourself - we've all heard the question of whether a couple should 'stay together for the kids'. 

Realistically, a divorce does have a significant impact on children, even if they're prioritised and not put in the middle of it.

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Child safety reform in the world of big tech is sweeping the globe at the moment. 

Australia's leading the charge in the social media ban for under 16s, and California has expanded the Coogan Law to cover child influencers, to name a few. 

Although we haven't seen any change here in New Zealand, the conversation has truly started and we may see moves being made soon. 

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Many parents will be starting to feel the exhaustion from getting back into school and extracurriculars. 

We often go into the new year with high expectations of ourselves - like completely homemade school lunches, no takeout, keeping on top of house work - but quickly realise there was a reason we weren't accomplishing all that last year. 

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A new report this week found nearly 90% of Auckland primary school say there's an increasing number of new entrants starting school without bare basic skills like being toilet trained and talking properly.

These are 5 year olds who are otherwise capable, but some stage of their early childhood seems to have been neglected - they can't even identify the letters of their name or hold a pencil. 

As harsh as it may be, the blame d...

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