Catherine, Princess of Wales, is getting candid about the challenges of raising children in today’s society.
Speaking to UK radio presenter Roman Kemp on Friday, February 3, the 41-year-old mother of three acknowledged that being a parent is difficult. Agreeing with Kemp that the cost of living crisis adds another layer of stress to parents trying to “keep a roof above their heads”.
“Every family is different. The pressures we face are all different, whilst raising the importance of early childhood,” she said.
“This isn’t about putting extra pressure on families. It’s actually saying they need the support and help reprioritising family life, home life and all that it takes in raising children today because it is tough.”
“The relationships in a family or that surrounding a child are so important. The environment in which you bring up a child is as important, as whereas the experiences you engage them with,” she continued.
“It’s not about the number of toys they’ve got or the number of sort of trips that you go on with them. It’s just making sure that they’ve got the right emotional support around them and that comes from the adults in their lives.”
Kemp added that while he was fortunate to be “very loved throughout [his] life” he adds that “to make it a normality would be nice.”
“Yeah. And love goes a long way. It’s very true,” the Royal agreed.
The Princess’s latest interview is part of her new Shaping Us campaign, which launched earlier this week.
The project aims to improve society’s understanding of the effects of the earliest years of a child’s life on their personal development.
“The campaign is fundamentally about shining a spotlight on the critical importance of early childhood and how it shapes the adults we become,” Catherine said at the campaign’s pre-campaign launch event.
“During this time we lay the foundations and building blocks for life. And it is when we learn to understand ourselves, understand others and understand the world in which we live.
“This is why it is essential, to not only understand the unique importance of our earliest years but to know what we can all do to help raise future generations of happy, healthy adults.”
As the patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the royal has dedicated a majority of her work to early childhood development and pregnancy, having called the newest campaign her “life’s work”.