After six weeks holiday, Kiwi kids are heading back to school - but is the summer break too long?
One National MP, Nicola Willis, reckons it is, so she's campaigning for a law change to shorten it to four or five weeks. Ms Willis is considering drafting a private members bill on this.
"In 2019, most parents work. They only get four weeks' annual leave. There's 12 weeks of [school] holiday a year. By mid-January, most people are feeling the pressure," Ms Willis told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.
The mum of four said, "I've been a working mum for many years, and I do know that this time of year can be a juggle for people".
Ms Willis said while it shouldn't be up to schools to provide childcare, evidence shows that "children's learning and progress actually slips back during an extended break".
"So by returning children to school earlier, we could actually help their achievement as well. They're just slipping back, and it takes a while to recover that sometimes. And look, we could all be running maths lessons at home, but let’s get real - we're not, are we?
"I'd like to be that mother, and congratulations to the mothers out there who are like that - you're doing great work, and the dads, too - but not all of us are doing maths lessons."
Auckland mum of two Mel Lienert agrees that the holidays can be a real struggle, "especially when, traditionally, annual leave's four weeks a year".
"School holiday programmes - they do cost and, depending on income, sometimes, they’re just not worth our while. Like, we end up paying up more than we get in."
Kids currently have 12 weeks of break per year - and Ms Lienert thinks it should stay that way, however.
"Actually, they're in our home for such a short amount of time, so I guess I'd probably prefer to make the most of the time we do have with them while they’re young and while they still need our care."
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