Children's voices 20 years on

[Music]

Joe:

Hello.

Maraea:

Kia ora.

Joe:

Kia ora.

Maraea:

Are you comfortable?

Tira:

Yep.

Maraea:

Ka pai. Kia ora kōrua.

Do you remember this? 

Kyle:

Let's have a look.

Te Urukaipo:

Ka awhi ngā mātua.

Nina:

That's me.

Daniel:

Yeah, Joe.

Tira:

Ki te mahi korowai.

Oh my gosh.

I like playing dominoes with my nana.

Angus:

Ask me what's been going on.

Tira:

Is this guy getting interviewed?

Angus:

Put me on my bed until I've stopped crying.

Nina:

And I'm four years old now.

TeWairahipere: 

Kōrero pai koe ki ahau i ngā wā katoa.

Kyle:

I like going shopping and getting some things – things that I really like.

Tira:

They sing to me.

Daniel:

They just remind me of things I've been through, like happy things.

Angus:

Ask me what's been going on.

Joe:

Give me apple.

Give me a glass of water.

Makes me breathe.

The apple's crazy – crazily enough, I've moved back in with my parents for the last couple of months while I'm back home for work, and my dad still brings me a fruit plate every night, and there's always apples on it.

It is so powerful because children just speak their mind, and what comes out is very precious.

Nina:

There were a couple where they were talking about how giving them time to breathe was helpful for them.

That's incredible to know when you're five, or however old they would have been.

So we have, I guess, a lot of knowledge already in terms of what keeps us regulated and what calms us down.

TeWairahipere: 

It made me think of how far I've come.

I was so little. I didn't know anything about the world.

Maraea:

The question was, how can we reward you? And you said birthday presents.

Te Urukaipo: 

Oh yeah, birthday presents.

That one, I think, doesn't ring as true anymore. As an adult now, I value things a little bit differently.

It's a bit too late now, but I realise the one thing I probably would have wanted most was a day at koro's place.

Yep, that would be the new answer. Another day at koro's place.

Pukenui: 

How should I speak to you?

Pukenui’s son:

Happy voice.

You copy and paste my answer.

I like the happy voice.

Daniel:

Found out I'm going to be a pāpā last night.

The most exciting thing is probably just giving my father a grandchild.

He's not the healthiest person at the moment, so getting to do that before it gets a bit too late...

I wasn't able to do that with my mum, but yeah, that's probably the thing that gets me.

It's just being able to provide that for my father.

TeWairahipere: 

As a tamaiti, you never know if you can talk or if you can't talk.

They're our next generation, just as I was the generation coming up in that video.

Tira:

Tamariki shape the future of the world we live in, so it's important to give them a voice and let them express their imagination.

[Text on screen: what are some of the childhood values or lessons that are still important today?]

Tira:

Ngā ōku mātua me ōku pakeke, ōku kaumātua i whakatauira mai.

[Text on screen: My parents, the adults around me and my elders were the people who set the example for me]

Te manaaki te tangata.

[Text on screen:They showed me how to care for others.]

Te whakapai i te whare, te tū i te ngākau whakaiti.

[Text on screen: How to look after the home.]

Nō reira ko tāku noa he tuku i ērā ki taku kōtiro.

[Text on screen: These are the values I want to pass on to my daughter.]

[Text on screen: 20 years on, how has the community shaped the person you are today?]

Angus:

It's hard to go to your parents for certain things you're going through, especially when there's such disparity between the ages and the things happening in your life, so having someone who can relate to what you're going through has just been so helpful.

Daniel:

I was a kid who was brought up by a village, so I had a really good support system around me.

It was instilled in me quite young that if you're upset, you've got to find ways to get out of that.

And I had a lot of people to talk to as well – hypothetically, if you're a bit upset with your parents or whatever, I had aunties and uncles to lean on, or cousins and things like that.

TeWairahipere: 

My road from being a teenager to a māmā now hasn't been easy.

I haven't been perfect, but I just plan on doing my best.

That kōrero does stand – it does take a village to raise tamariki.

[Text on screen: Do you think kids today would answer in the same way?]

Kyle:

I think as kids you just want to be loved. When things go wrong, you just want someone to be there for you.

Joe:

It's still key to have friends and family and ways to deal with issues, whether minor or major. I feel like that's still the same.

TeWairahipere: 

Kia ora.

Maraea:

Ka pai, thank you.

[Text on screen: All it takes is for us to listen]

[Graphic: Tākai logo]