"The Growing Up in New Zealand dataset is a real taonga, and we can use it to look for not only children's health issues but also things that make them resilient and bring them joy.

"Music is a huge part of children's lives, from singing in school assemblies to live gigs at festivals if they're lucky enough to be taken along. There are different ways children engage with music as they grow, but also as new technologies become more accessible, so it's important to track how and who has access to music.

"We found that as children got older, their parents sang to them less - but they listened to more music on their own. As children grow, they're becoming more independent and choosing their own music to sing along to.

"Whanau Māori were found to sing more consistently to their children across childhood, showing how deeply important singing and storytelling are for Māori as a way of sharing cultural knowledge and preserving language."