I loved the Instagram post announcing the safe arrival of the Prime Minister's baby.
Jacinda Ardern looked exhausted, beautiful and exhilarated and her partner, Clarke Gayford, had the sort of expression I've seen on the faces of many new dads - proud, terrified and relieved.
The birth of any babyis a cause for celebration, unless you are the most churlish of souls.
Every new life has such potential. That's why I'd love to see a huge investment in families and children - especially pre-schoolers - in this country.
It is an indisputable fact the years between birth and 3 are the most important in developing a healthy child.
Invest heavily in families with babies and you won't have to pay further down the line.
Why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars keeping people alive in secure dementia units when the resources could be used to support young families?
I've had a great life already.
If it turns to custard and I find myself existing, not living, I'd far rather donate my health dollars to a young family to give their kids the best possible chance of living a great life, too.
If only it were that simple.
Bill English had the right idea with his social investment policy. Basically - without doing his years of work justice - it involved using data to figure out which government and community initiatives worked for families.
The plan was to remove government agencies from the lives of stressed families and support them to make their own right decisions about their lives, thus reducing dependence on the state.
Bill English had the right idea with his social investment policy. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It's a moot point whether the compassion and genuine concern that drove his thinking would have been retained as they were adopted by bureaucracies.
Dame Tariana Turia agreed with the principles of English's policy. The worst thing you can do is make families helpless and inculcate dependency on state agencies.
Ardern has acknowledged time and again how lucky she feels with the resources she has as a new mum.
She has a partner committed to being a full-time parent. Two sets of grandparents are ready, willing and able to help out. Her job gives her sufficient income not to worry about paying the bills.
And she has a supportive work environment that sees working parents as the norm.
The Prime Minister knows not everyone is so fortunate. Still, she can get on with caring for the nation's babies further down the track.
Right now, she has her own beautiful baby to look after. She has been held up as a role model for all working women and that's a heavy burden to bear - albeit one she has borne with dignity and grace.
I hope she takes her time and doesn't feel any pressure to rush back to work.
And here I am doing the thing I promised I wouldn't and offering unsolicited advice - which is the last thing new parents want or need.
The best present we in the media could give the family is space and privacy. I wish them all the very best.
