Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Editorial: Gone are the holidays on dad duty

By Greg Taipari
Hawkes Bay Today·
29 Sep, 2014 04:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Photo / Thinkstock

Photo / Thinkstock

I'm bored - two words I'm picking most parents will be sick of hearing by the end of these holidays. It seems to be exacerbated with the wet weather we've been having these past couple of days.

But before you start marking the days off the calendar counting down the days the little ones head back to school, spare a thought for this old codger whose children have outgrown the "hanging with the old man buzz" and now prefer to spend time with their mates or on their electronic equipment.

Yes, this dad has been replaced by Facebook, Twitter or shopping at the mall.

I used to look forward to the holidays, writing out a list of movies to watch and different events I could take the kids to. Then off to McDonald's drive-thru for a Happy Meal to eat while playing at the local park.

Sure there were times at home, when they'd get bored and come running to dad for guidance on what can be done when it's raining or to be adjudicator for the battle over a toy.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But things started to change about 18 months ago. All of a sudden, the kids were saying "nah, Dad, that's a dumb movie" or "I don't feel like going".

Time goes so fast, before you know it, your kids have found out that hanging with their parents isn't cool. Now it appears all I've become is the glorified taxi driver. Still, I wouldn't change anything.

Spending time with the children during their holidays gave me plenty of great memories.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Here in the Bay there are plenty of things to do to build lasting memories with the kids. One thing that comes to mind is the Ranfurly Shield challenge tomorrow night against Wellington.

Discover more

Editorial: Let's find despicable cyclist

02 Oct 12:00 AM

Editorial: Vital that Kiwi kids can swim

02 Oct 09:28 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Asterisks, footnotes and claims of 'weasel words': Inside the battle for region's housing future

02 Jul 07:00 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

From the theatre to a line mechanic: Hastings woman aims to inspire women into electrical trade

02 Jul 04:05 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

'Potential to cause fatal accidents': Close to 1km of copper cabling stolen

02 Jul 03:43 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Asterisks, footnotes and claims of 'weasel words': Inside the battle for region's housing future

Asterisks, footnotes and claims of 'weasel words': Inside the battle for region's housing future

02 Jul 07:00 AM

The plan is years in the making, but now it's reached a cross-council 'standoff'.

From the theatre to a line mechanic: Hastings woman aims to inspire women into electrical trade

From the theatre to a line mechanic: Hastings woman aims to inspire women into electrical trade

02 Jul 04:05 AM
'Potential to cause fatal accidents': Close to 1km of copper cabling stolen

'Potential to cause fatal accidents': Close to 1km of copper cabling stolen

02 Jul 03:43 AM
MetService concedes Cyclone Gabrielle red weather warning could've come sooner

MetService concedes Cyclone Gabrielle red weather warning could've come sooner

02 Jul 03:10 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP