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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has opened up about the challenges of raising a young child while leading a country through a pandemic.
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The Prime Minister says she doesn’t walk much anymore, but her daughter Neve keeps her moving. Source: Mentemia
Ardern was speaking with former All Black and mental health advocate Sir John Kirwan as part of the Open Minded series for his organization. Mind.
The Prime Minister said that while she used to go for a walk or run often, she was finding it increasingly difficult to find the time, but found that daughter Neve’s love of dancing was more than a substitute.
“Before I loved to walk and did it a lot; now I’m almost ashamed of how little I walk or run,” he said.
“I have cops who follow me all the time, so I feel like I don’t get enough exercise for them outside anymore.
“When you have a little one, that time for those exercises becomes much more difficult, so now, Neve loves to dance.
“So in the morning, and often before he goes to bed, he says ‘I want to dance,’ so we put on some really bad kids music, screw Clark’s Spotify algorithms, and play something to dance to.”
Kirwan asked if Ardern felt guilty about going back to work after having Neve, and the Prime Minister said that she felt “absolutely” guilty.
“Almost, the return was not the worst, because I knew I had to return and that I would arrive in six weeks.
“Clarke, bless her, was there bringing Neve to see me regularly; it was almost as if during that period I had that excuse to have regular contact because I had to feed her.
“What’s gotten more difficult is that over time, when she doesn’t need it anymore, I no longer have that excuse and I don’t see it as much.
“So for me, it’s a daily struggle, when I go out in the morning and she cries, which is not every morning, some days it’s just ‘see you mom’, but it reminds me that I’m not the only one going through that. .
“Every parent at some point has experienced it and that means that I too can understand how they feel.
“I also tell myself that Neve is fine, she has wonderful people around her, she sees her mom, but she also sees her dad, her grandmother and her dad.
“As long as the children are surrounded by a village of love, then they will be fine, I tell myself all the time.”
Ardern said that since her father was a police officer when she was growing up, he often worked odd hours, but their relationship had not suffered.
