The COVID-19 lockdown revealed how vital it is for children to spend time with the adults in their life, says the Children's Commissioner.
Andrew Becroft says a survey of more than 1400 young people, carried out by his office immediately after New Zealand's March lockdown, has highlighted how important quality time is within families.
Becroft told Newshub it's a good reminder of what's important in the lead up to Christmas.
"Love is a four letter word spelled T-I-M-E.
"This holiday period when we're feeling a bit tired, needing some more time, we need to play that twentieth game of noughts and crosses, or spend more time in the water doing a handstand, going for early morning fishing trips. That's what builds relationships - COVID made that crystal clear."
He says the survey has implications not only for families but for the Government too.
"We need to be developing policies which allow adults to spend more time with their children, flexible working, better maternity leave."
The benefits of flexible working were another finding from the survey - Becroft says online learning taught students and schools the importance of versatility - and how one size does not fit all when it comes to education.
"For many children being able to work at their own time at their own hours in their own way was something of a winner for them," says Becroft.
"Schools have learned a lot from that - that flexibility aids good education success and we know that's a key to long term success."
But not all children found online learning to be such a positive experience - families who were already struggling pre-COVID struggled twice as hard, and the digital divide was made abundantly clear.
Becroft says many children did not have the resources they needed to continue their education from home - and there is a lesson to be learned from that if the country ever needs to lockdown again.
"If we lockdown again we should be committed to ensuring all children have access to devices and to online learning so that they can thrive and develop."
