There’s something quietly important about a book for kids. Not the ones that look nice on a shelf, but the ones that are given to a child, opened, pointed out, and read out loud in a voice that sounds like home. In 2021, OMEP Aotearoa New Zealand made sure that every early childhood center in the country had one of those books. The bilingual book was called For Each and Every Child: He Taonga Tonu te Tamariki. It was based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which says that children have certain rights. It’s interesting that this wasn’t done until 2021, ten years after the book came out.
OMEP Aotearoa’s commitment wasn’t just about getting things done. The group printed and handed out the book because they believed that everything done in early childhood settings should be based on the rights and best interests of tamariki. That’s not a statement from a government agency. It is a position of values. It also includes an understanding that language, especially te reo Māori, is not an extra cultural thing that can be added whenever it’s convenient. It makes things possible.
It seems almost unfair to talk about how important the early years were. Researchers have found over and over that the best time to learn a language is in the first five years of life. During that time, what a child hears, repeats, and feels shapes not only how they talk, but also how they see themselves and their place in the world. When Māori children meet te reo for the first time, or don’t hear it, it has an impact on them that lasts for decades. A lot of adult Māori are going to full immersion courses on their own time and money to try to get back something that should have been theirs from the start. That cycle starts early and wears you out.
The work of OMEP leads to a preschool setting where te reo Māori resources are needed and not just nice to have. The He Taonga Tonu resource that comes with the book is meant to help kaiako (early childhood teachers) talk to kids about their rights, who they are, and where they belong. It’s meant to be a part of everyday life, not something you only do on special occasions. There is a big difference between a center that sometimes uses a Māori word and one that really uses te reo in its lessons, materials, and daily routines. OMEP seems to be very aware of this difference.
In some early childhood services, Māori language resources might still be seen as nice-to-haves rather than a must. When you look at the national curriculum, it’s hard to understand why people think that way. The early childhood curriculum framework in New Zealand, Te Whāriki, refers directly to the UNCRC and reflects its goals in all of its principles, strands, and learning outcomes. The framework wants tamariki to grow up to be smart people who can reason and choose for themselves. That seems unlikely to happen if kids don’t also develop a strong sense of their cultural identity. For many tamariki in Aotearoa, this means that te reo Māori needs to be spoken around them.
Kura kaupapa and Māori immersion settings have been fighting for a long time to get the resources and attention they deserve. The early childhood sector as a whole is just now starting to catch up. OMEP’s push to give every preschool bilingual materials is part of this bigger picture. It’s a recognition that language belongs not just to people who work in immersion, but to all the places where young children spend their days.
As I watch this happen, I get the impression that New Zealand is somewhere between recognizing the problem and making real changes. There are new copies of books. Resources are being shared out. The language is becoming more common in everyday life. It’s still not clear if that means being present in every playgroup, childcare center, and preschool morning. The question from OMEP Aotearoa is asked at the right time, though: at the start.
