Princess Kate may be the future Queen of the UK, however there is no doubt that she considers her role as a mum as one of the most important titles she will ever have. While carrying out royal duties, Kate always makes sure to balance her time so she can raise her children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six. While it is not uncommon for nannies to be used for royals, Kate and Prince William have both made sure to be hands on parents and are known for doing the school run, cooking dinners, and even attending school sporting events.
However, while Kate may be one of the most famous women in the world, this does not mean that she is immune to all the problems that parenting presents. We have seen very few public outbursts from the royal children over the years; but this does not mean typical child behaviours do not take place behind closed doors, with Kate, 43, reportedly having a specific tactic to handle such challenges when they arise.
According to The Mirror, when one of their children loses their temper, Kate and Prince William, 42, take them away for a “sofa chat”.
This involves Kate and William sitting down with the children and encouraging them to communicate their feelings and thoughts to help them understand why the situation happened, rather than being left to deal with the feelings alone and become more angry.
The Mirror also said the couple have a “no shouting” rule in place, with the couple reportedly never raising their voices to their children.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are also encouraged not to raise their voices when bickering with one other.
While we are not sure how well this “sofa chat” works behind the walls of their Adelaide Cottage home in Windsor, Kate has received praise from experts before about her approach to parenting and conflict resolution.
Qualified early years practitioner and parenting consultant Kirsty Ketley once said that such sofa chats can help children “regulate their emotions better” and “keep their self-esteem intact”.
She said: “They are also more likely to come to you for help when the bigger things happen, rather than try and hide them from you, for fear of punishment.”