REGULARS

Welcome

As this is my first issue in my new role as the editor, I needed a new photo. The idea was that my kids would be in it. I have three fantastic children, but as you can see, only the wee one was willing. And actually, to say he was willing is stretching it. He had to come along, and after a while, he warmed up and gave us a smile. My other two are teenagers, and I didn’t have enough cash on me to get them in front of the camera.

It’s a shame. With children ranging from age four to 17, with a lovely 15-year-old in the middle, there just aren’t that many moments when we’re all doing the same thing. The camera rarely catches the whole family. In one day, we can move between a Peppa Pig birthday party and a school formal, from a driving lesson to a swimming lesson.

Next year, my eldest will move out to take up a position as an officer in the NZ Navy, and my youngest will have his first day at school. From then on, all of us being in the same room will be a special occasion.

In the past few weeks, I’ve caught myself wishing the end of this year away, muttering that I can’t wait for it to be over. There’s no doubt it’s been a tough one; a year filled with new anxieties, change, and fresh worries about how the future will look. Like most of us, I feel tired of it, but I will never forget those four weeks of lockdown at home as a family, just us. Those were strange times, but for a brief moment, it was kind of perfect.

I hope you enjoy the summer break and soak up the precious times with family celebrating the holidays. See if you can grab a family photo!

P.S. You will notice that the magazine looks and feels a little different this time. Because of a shortage of our usual paper stock due to COVID, this issue has been printed using an alternative.

Anna Scaife / Editor anna@27publishers.co.nz @familytimesnewzealand

Contents

25

7 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 22

23 25 27 28

FEATURES

A head start

Stem cell storage – a potential lifesaver

Sleep baby, sleep

Between school and home

More play at primary school

A window to your child’s health

Helping kids get school-ready

The St Andrew’s difference

Period talk – right first time

Bigger and better 30 31 32 34 36 38

Kids' sports: finding the balance between too little and too much

Sink or swim Trout and about Stay and play 28

Waikato wonders Visit the future

Stunning South Island

Destination Aotearoa

Get crafty: That’s a wrap

Food: Strawberry French toast

Pop Up Penguins

14

3 5 6 8 20 24 35 37

REGULARS

Welcome Note

Help is at hand

Books and Beats

We love...

What’s On Christchurch

Kiwi kids

Giveaways

Christchurch Marketplace

PLUS, make sure you LIKE our social pages to stay up-to-date with happenings and advice, and for plenty of chances to WIN! familytimesnewzealand