Bay Paediatrics

Bay Paediatrics New Zealand's award-winning children's clinic specialising in ADHD and ASD assessment, diagnosis, medication and care.

Giving extraordinary parents and incredible children the tools to thrive

05/06/2026

In our relentless pursuit of becoming New Zealand’s number one child neurodevelopmental clinic, we are excited to announce our new ADHD assessment tool.

Happy Friday 😆.

Your child isn’t defying you: They’re struggling in front of you.When a neurodivergent child says no to getting dressed,...
03/06/2026

Your child isn’t defying you: They’re struggling in front of you.

When a neurodivergent child says no to getting dressed, stopping the screen, coming to dinner, going to school, heading to bed....most parents think it’s defiance.

It isn’t.

The ADHD brain has a 30% developmental delay in the executive functions that make ‘following the rules’ possible: impulse control, task initiation, flexible thinking, emotional regulation. The instruction lands. The desire is there.

But the machinery isn’t available.

What you’re watching isn’t a child who won’t. It’s a child who genuinely CAN’T.

The parent who understands this stops pulling harder on the rope. They change the task. They reduce the demand.

They discover TRUE defiance can be embraced. Because brave defiance can the one of the most powerful skills your child can learn.

The child who discovers the courage to defy, persist and prevail becomes the adult who is unstoppable.

The child who defies convention learns that reality ain’t just what they tell you it is.

The child who defies will look beyond and seek the unseen. They will dare to question, dare to explore. Accepting the spoon-fed narrative? That’s surrender. They will choose to embrace curiosity, dig deeper.

This is the child who will defy the script and create their own future.

Your Child Isn’t Lazy. The System Just Wasn’t Built For Them.

What happens when a 23-year-old who left school early, wo...
27/05/2026

Your Child Isn’t Lazy. The System Just Wasn’t Built For Them.

What happens when a 23-year-old who left school early, worked 13 jobs, and got labelled ‘lazy’ and ‘entitled’ decides to do something about it? She builds a business that fights for every young person the system wrote off.

Nicole Hoeata is the CEO of .hungry . She’s on a mission to bridge the biggest generational divide in workplace history, and make sure that neurodiverse, misunderstood, and square-peg young people finally find their place in the world.

This for every parent who has ever worried about their child’s future. And for every young person who has ever been told they just need to fall in line.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

🔎 Why Gen Z are not lazy or entitled…and what’s really going on beneath the surface

⁉️ The staggering stat that puts it all into perspective: the average young person today carries the same level of anxiety as a psychiatric patient in the 1970s

🚫 Why 70 to 80% of companies hire people into the wrong role…and what that means for neurodiverse young people

🏢 The generational divide playing out in workplaces right now…and why neither side is wrong

🤒 Why workplaces need to stop worrying about employees faking sickness and start worrying about employees faking wellness

❤️‍🩹 The one question Nicole asks after every experience — good or bad — that puts you back in control

🔀 Why every rejection is just redirection — and why no experience is ever wasted

📈 Should every neurodiverse young person just skip the job and start the business? Nicole gives her honest answer

If you have a young person in your life who is struggling to find their place — in school, in work, or in the world — this conversation will give you both hope and a roadmap.

🎧 link in bio - listen now!

The world will tell you that your child needs to be ‘managed’. That’s because they want the light without the heat.But ‘...
26/05/2026

The world will tell you that your child needs to be ‘managed’. That’s because they want the light without the heat.

But ‘regulation’ should not mean ‘suppression’.

Supporting neurodivergent children does NOT mean helping them to blend in. To fade into the background. To hide their brilliance and sandpaper their unique edges so they can disappear into bland normality.

To be different takes strength. It takes guidance. It takes the confidence of an adult who will stand by their side if they choose to walk a different path.

As scary as it feels, sometimes we have to walk into the chaos voluntarily. And walking in is the hardest part.

But once you are in, the chaos starts to make sense.

Once you are in…you can’t go back.

Questions EVERY Parent Should Ask BEFORE Booking an ADHD Assessment for Their ChildWe see these questions pop up every w...
18/05/2026

Questions EVERY Parent Should Ask BEFORE Booking an ADHD Assessment for Their Child

We see these questions pop up every week: From parents trying to decide between clinics, parents stuck on a public waitlist wondering if private is worth it, and parents who have booked an assessment but don't know what to expect on the day.

At Bay Paediatrics, all of our paediatricians and child psychiatrists have neurodivergent children. So we asked them what questions THEY would be asking before booking an ADHD assessment for their child, anywhere in New Zealand.

We’re on a mission to raise the standard of Neurodevelopmental care for EVERY family in New Zealand.

This is why it’s important that parents are asking the right questions of ANY clinic, so that their children get the very best assessment and support.

To explore these questions further (and learn the answers for Bay Paediatrics), check out our blog article - link on final image.

We never shy away from saying what needs to be said.But we’re getting pretty sick and tired of the world telling every p...
15/05/2026

We never shy away from saying what needs to be said.

But we’re getting pretty sick and tired of the world telling every parent they need to ‘celebrate’ ‘perfect days’ and ‘wonderful parenting gifts’

If we see another ChatGPT-generated, copy & pasted, lazily-thrown-together post about ‘mindful parenting’ or ‘embracing strengths’, then something in the delightful Bay Paediatrics waiting room is going to get broken.

(and then rapidly tidied up…because we can’t stand disorder)

Parenting life isn’t perfect. Neurodivergent parenting life is FAR from perfect.

So why pretend otherwise?

We know that right now, TODAY. So many parents are struggling.

Some of you will have been shouted or sworn at.

Some of you will not have been appreciated in the way you deserve.

Some of you will have got meltdowns in bed, not breakfast in bed.

Some of you will have been told what a ‘horrible’ parent you are.
..and potentially, you’ve been on the receiving end of more besides (you can read between the lines here).

And if it didn’t happen today, it might’ve happened on a different day.

We know, because it happens to us too. Tears, shouting, swearing, hitting. The lot.

So please, remember, you ARE doing an amazing job.

Their anger is not your failure.

(And this is the really painful part): Sometimes our kids need to hate us.

That’s what happens when you try to raise a lion, not a sheep.

Their awesomely unique mind will give them an edge... but an edge can be painful sometimes.

A child who never defies you will be devoured by the first authority figure who demands their soul.

A child afraid to express anger against their parent becomes an adult who swallows poison rather than spitting it out.

We know it doesn’t make it easier, and it doesn’t make the pain go away. But the volcano has to erupt, and it’s not your fault.

So we just wanted to say in case anyone needs to hear it: This is a bad moment, but it’s not a bad life.

Keep raising lions.

Giving the tween queens confidence to build a kingdom.For so many girls, the journey from childhood to teenage years doe...
12/05/2026

Giving the tween queens confidence to build a kingdom.

For so many girls, the journey from childhood to teenage years doesn’t feel like growing up.

It feels like losing themselves. The body changes. The friendships get complicated. The social media comparisons start. And nobody — not school, not mum, not anyone — quite prepares them for what’s really happening.

Mariana Sala decided to change that.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

🎂 What the “tween years” actually are…and why this window between ages 7 and 12 is one of the most critical and overlooked stages of a girl’s development

🪞Why body image issues are starting younger than ever, and what mums might be doing without realising that makes it worse.

🤫 The double transition nobody talks about: when a daughter hits puberty at the same time mum hits midlife

🫶 What dads can actually do, and why father-daughter time matters more than most dads realise.

💥 Why mum and daughter conflict at this age isn’t a crisis, it’s biology

If you have a daughter, know a daughter, or were once a daughter who could have used someone in your corner during those uncertain in-between years, this conversation is for you.

🎧 link to listen in bio 🔗.

EPIC Families LIVE 2026Raise Your Gamechanger 🚀.Every neurodivergent child has the power to change the world.New Zealand...
11/05/2026

EPIC Families LIVE 2026

Raise Your Gamechanger 🚀.

Every neurodivergent child has the power to change the world.

New Zealand’s largest event for Neurodiverse Families returns on Sunday August 16th.

Join Sonia Gray, Ellen Nathan, Freddie Bennett, Sarah Gillum, ‘Barber’ Spence McNeil, Lisa Cowan…. And 500 parents and children just like YOU.

Plus the Bay Paediatrics paediatricians and psychiatrists will be answering your most pressing questions live on stage.

Now in its third year, EPIC Families LIVE promises to be all thriller, no filler.

No blame, no shame, no guilt, no judgement…and definitely NO boredom. That’s why no family gets left behind.

Tickets are on sale NOW.

Go to the link in our bio or head to the baypaediatrics .com website.

On Saturday August 16th, the neurodiversity revolution returns, and we’re giving EVERY family the tools to change the game.

Somewhere along the way, perhaps we forgot what motherhood truly is.And that’s understandable, considering you were so b...
10/05/2026

Somewhere along the way, perhaps we forgot what motherhood truly is.

And that’s understandable, considering you were so busy being everything to everyone else:

The appointment booker
The bedtime reader
The taxi driver
The advocate
The bad cop
The cleaner
The cook
The ATM

And you do it all. With no praise. No support. No appreciation. No recognition.

Yet, if you put yourself first for a change, you know the house will fall apart.

Dirty laundry kicked around bedroom floors.
Lights remain blazing in empty rooms.
School forms remain uncompleted.
Sports matches go unattended.
Sibling fights go unresolved.
Tears remain on cheeks.

And still, after all this, they will tell you they hate you. But their anger isn’t your failure, it’s their boundary being born. A child raised afraid to rage against their parent becomes an adult who swallows poison rather than spitting it out.

You make the sacrifices. You put yourself last. Every single day.

You do this not because you need to prepare the road for your child, but because you know you must prepare your child for the road.

And that’s why there’s nobody else who can do it better than you.

Today, and every day:

Happy Mother’s Day.

EPIC FAMILIES LIVE 2026!!New Zealand’s largest event for neurodiverse families is BACKThis year’s theme is: Raising The ...
08/05/2026

EPIC FAMILIES LIVE 2026!!

New Zealand’s largest event for neurodiverse families is BACK

This year’s theme is: Raising The Gamechangers 🚀

It’s our goal to give families the playbook for raising the unique minds who will change the world.

On Sunday August 16th, we’re bringing New Zealand’s leading neurodiversity voices to the Bay of Plenty:

Sonia Gray: TVNZ host, actress, host of the award-winning ‘No Such Thing As Normal’ podcast, diagnosed with ADHD herself and raising a daughter under the neurodivergent umbrella.

Freddie Bennett: Guinness World Record holder, adventurer, podcast host, managing director of Bay Paediatrics and on a mission to help families discover their ADHD advantage.

Elen Nathan: One of New Zealand’s leading Occupational Therapists and certified Sensory Integration Practitioner. Elen specialises in Neurodivergence, Sensory Processing Differences and Developmental Trauma.

Spencer McNeil: Otherwise known as ‘Barber Spence’, Spencer is an award-winning business owner and passionate mental health advocate for young people.

Sarah Gillum: Expert entrepreneur and mum of a neurodiverse household showing you how to combine neurodiverse parenting with fulfilling your own goals and dreams.

Lisa Cowan: A neurodivergent parent to her neurospicy, Lisa is a leading voice to help families understand the complexities, challenges, and strengths that can come with navigating diagnosis, support systems, and everyday life. .cowan.735

The Bay Paediatrics Medical Team: New Zealand’s finest Developmental Paediatricians and Child Psychiatrists answering YOUR most pressing questions live on stage..

…and 500 parents, professionals and educators like just you!

And, as always, CHILDREN ARE WELCOME. We have the Kid’s Zone back...bigger and better than ever.

We are so excited to bring the neurodiversity revolution back for the third time.

Tickets go on sale 9:00am next Monday May 11th.

Come and find your people. Come and feel understood. Come and raise your Gamechanger.

Address

Bay Paediatrics
Tauranga
3110

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