Under the title "The Daughter of the Prime Minister of New Zealand Interrupts Her Mother's Speech and Forces Her to Accompany Her to Bed... Video," the Emirati newspaper Al-Bayan reported on what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's daughter did to her during a live broadcast. The newspaper noted that in a scenario that has become familiar for parents worldwide since COVID-19, three-year-old Neve interrupted her mother’s official live Facebook session. The state leader was addressing her nation via Facebook Live about new policies and eased restrictions in response to COVID-19.
In the presence of children, everything is put on hold until national responsibilities. This is what Jacinda Ardern did with her daughter live on air. Before the live broadcast was cut, Ardern asked her daughter to return to bed and apologized to her followers before explaining the situation. A few minutes later, Neve returned to her mother, asking why she was busy, saying “What takes so long?” This prompted Ardern to tell the audience she would have to end the broadcast to take her daughter to bed.
The Prime Minister was discussing the government's new measures regarding restrictions due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to Euronews. During the live broadcast, 41-year-old Ardern told her daughter Neve: "You’re supposed to be in bed, darling." She continued calmly, not realizing she was entering negotiations with her daughter, saying, “No, Neve, it’s bedtime, darling; you need to go to bed, and I’ll come and see you in a second, in a minute.”
Then, she turned back to her followers and smiled, saying, “Okay, so sorry everyone.” She continued, “I failed at bedtime with my daughter, didn’t I? I thought I could talk to you all calmly on Facebook Live. I’m sure many of you here in this broadcast have children, and similar things happen to you at bedtime.” After this spontaneous clarification, Jacinda attempted to regroup her thoughts and resume her speech, saying, “Okay, where were we?” but Neve's voice returned, asking, “What takes so long?” The Prime Minister responded, “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and its spread worldwide, restrictions have been imposed to limit social interactions, making various communication methods and remote technologies a way to work from home, which has normalized such situations. In 2018, Ardern took on the role of Prime Minister, becoming one of the few women to hold such a position in politics. She also became the second Prime Minister in the world to give birth while in office after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto. Later, Ardern brought her daughter to the United Nations headquarters in New York.
