Co-parenting arrangements fall through cracks - researcher

Co-parenting arrangements fall through cracks - researcher

From It Takes A Village by RNZ

May 26, 2026 · 17 min · Episode 396

About this episode

Kate Prickett discusses the shortcomings of New Zealand's data systems in tracking co-parenting arrangements and their impact on family well-being.

A leading researcher says New Zealand's official data systems fail to track the realities of co-parenting and shared care arrangements. Often unseen because they are not counted in the Census, these shared care arrangements are happening in one-in-five households, according to Motu Research's senior fellow Kate Prickett. Parents getting less informal support from the other parent for things like clothing, food and transport among others had higher rates of anxiety and depression. Kate Prickett says the research shows families with shared care exist in a middle ground between the sole parents, and the two parent home. And policy frameworks are often not flexible to their complexity. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

People in this episode

Guest: Kate Prickett

Topics covered

  • co-parenting
  • shared care
  • mental health
  • family dynamics
  • policy frameworks

Keywords

  • co-parenting
  • shared care
  • New Zealand
  • mental health
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • family support

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Motu Research

Places: New Zealand

More episodes of It Takes A Village

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the It Takes A Village podcast page.