What has whānau taught you?
Emma | Tāmaki Makaurau
When Emma had her second child seven years after her first, she needed to build a new community – and she found one at Playcentre.
“My parents don’t live in Tāmaki Makaurau so it has been vital to me to have people, have my people.
When I had my second child, who’s seven years younger, I realized what an incredible blessing it had been to have that friendship because I didn’t have that the next time around. I really had to work at building a community the second time.
I was older, he was way more vibrant, and I really needed people in my corner. I had an amazing little community in Wānaka that stemmed from a playgroup. It was really hard to leave that, and when I came back to Auckland, I wasn’t sure what to do. I ended up turning to Playcentre and found an amazing whānau there, and that’s been the making of the last few years for me.
That Playcentre whānau has made it okay for me to feel how I do and made it okay for him to be who he is and be his amazing, authentic self. For us both to feel included, valued, and part of something bigger than us has been amazing. It’s been fantastic for building friendships for him, and for me to have someone who gets it—who knows, like a shoulder to cry on, some people to laugh with, and just put our heads in our hands and be like, “oh my goodness” on the days when it’s really hard.”
