Tamariki once were cherished

Cherishing tamariki and reviving tūpuna parenting for whānau wellbeing

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Rangahau Centre, Te Manawahoukura recently released a report that calls for a renewed commitment to gentle and respectful Māori parenting as a pathway to wellbeing for tamariki and whānau.

The report, Taku Waipiataata, Taku Hei Tāwhiri - Cherishing Tamariki Through Tūpuna Child Rearing was commissioned by Tūpuna Parenting and produced in partnership with Te Manawahoukura.

Built on the legacy of two pioneering wāhine Māori scholars, Helen Mountain Harte (1942-2019) and Professor Kuni Jenkins, the report revisits and revitalises their 2011 literature review, Traditional Māori Parenting.

Dr Joni Māramatanga Angeli-Gordon, Kairangahau Matua | Senior Research Fellow at Te Manawahoukura Rangahau Centre wrote the report and says it, “supports Māori in remembering and affirming who we are as kind and gentle parents. By honouring the mana and tapu inherent in tamariki and embodying the ancestral ways of caring for their mauri (lifeforce), we can ensure that our mokopuna and the future generations thrive.”

Released on 27 June 2025, the date holds special significance for the Tūpuna Parenting team, as it marks the birthday of Helen Mountain Harte, whose daughter, Elizabeth Emere Harte, is the founder of Tūpuna Parenting.

“It is a privilege to uphold and advance the kaupapa that Mum was so passionate about, ensuring that our pēpi and tamariki are raised with the same love, strength, and respect that our tūpuna embodied,” says Elizabeth.

The report also honours early wāhine Māori scholar Mākereti (Maggie) Papakura (1873–1930), whose writing over a century ago described the care and respect shown to tamariki.

In her 1911 article, No One Smacks Māori Babies, she says, “The idea of beating a child, even a naughty child, is to me most terrible... for Māori children are never beaten.”

This idea is also shared in her 1938 book The Old-Time Māori, published posthumously from her Oxford thesis, which expands on Māori life and parenting.

Just recently, it was announced that Papakura will be posthumously awarded a Master of Philosophy in Anthropology by the University of Oxford, recognising her groundbreaking work.

The report is both a research milestone and a call to action - inviting whānau, communities, practitioners and policy makers to embrace ancestral parenting knowledge as a vital tool for healing and transformation.

At its heart, this report affirms that our tūpuna parented with aroha, care, and collective responsibility. The mātauranga they lived by remains a powerful source of transformation and guidance.

Read the full report.