Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Father's Day: No mess is top of the wishlist

Adriana Weber
Rotorua Daily Post·
5 Sep, 2014 10:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Tamati Crook loves being a stay-at-home dad to his six children.

Tamati Crook loves being a stay-at-home dad to his six children.

It's Father's Day tomorrow and a day to celebrate what people love about their dads. Reporter Adriana Weber speaks to locals who will be celebrating.

Stay-at-home dad Tamati Crook's only wish this Father's Day is for his six kids to not make a mess.

Mr Crook, who was raised in Rotorua but now lives in Whakatane, has been a stay-at-home dad to his six kids, aged from 3 to 17, for the past three years.

While he admits it can be trying at times, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I love being a stay-at-home dad, you get to spend lots of time with your kids. It's pretty choice," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It means early starts for Mr Crook, who gets up to cook his children breakfast, make their lunches, get them dressed and whisk them off to school or kindergarten.

After the kids leave is when the cleaning begins.

"As you can imagine, with six kids, the house can get messy pretty quickly. So it's my job to make sure everything is spic and span for when my wife gets home from work. But boy, do I have to pick up a lot of toys. There's just so many of them and they're everywhere, you never know where you're going to find them."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Crook said he was thrown into the role of stay-at-home dad.
"It was sort of a case of who got a job first, and my wife did, so that's how it all started.
"I have to admit, I do feel a bit guilty. I want to be able to provide for my family and help my wife out as much as I can."

He said he believed stay-at-home dads were becoming more common and telling others about what he did always sparked positive feedback.

"I've never had a single negative comment. Everyone I tell is full of praise and thinks it's great that I look after the kids."

Mr Crook said he hoped to soon get a job that was flexible, so he could still look after the children in the mornings and early afternoons.

As for what's on his wish list for Father's Day, forget breakfast in bed or a box of chocolates.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I guess I just want the kids to not make a bloody mess."

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Rotorua Daily Post

Pulitzer Prize-winning author headlines winter library series line-up

02 May 12:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

The Rookie stars’ unexpected Rotorua visit leaves staff 'giddy'

23 Apr 10:12 PM
Premium
Rotorua Daily Post

Rural retreats chase booming wellness tourism dollar in Bay

21 Mar 10:02 PM

Sponsored

Endangered bird gets another chance

21 Apr 02:30 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Pulitzer Prize-winning author headlines winter library series line-up
Rotorua Daily Post

Pulitzer Prize-winning author headlines winter library series line-up

Louise Erdrich is one of nine authors featured in winter events at Rotorua Library.

02 May 12:00 AM
The Rookie stars’ unexpected Rotorua visit leaves staff 'giddy'
Rotorua Daily Post

The Rookie stars’ unexpected Rotorua visit leaves staff 'giddy'

23 Apr 10:12 PM
Premium
Premium
Rural retreats chase booming wellness tourism dollar in Bay
Rotorua Daily Post

Rural retreats chase booming wellness tourism dollar in Bay

21 Mar 10:02 PM


Endangered bird gets another chance
Sponsored

Endangered bird gets another chance

21 Apr 02:30 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP