Duchess Kate opens up on parenting and the importance of supporting mental wellbeing of young children

The Duchess of Cambridge, patron of 100 Women in Finance's Philanthropic Initiatives, arrives at a Gala Dinner in aid of Mentally Healthy Schools at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Britain, February 13, 2019. Photo Credit: Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS
The Duchess of Cambridge, patron of 100 Women in Finance's Philanthropic Initiatives, arrives at a Gala Dinner in aid of Mentally Healthy Schools at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Britain, February 13, 2019. Photo Credit: Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS

Duchess Kate of Cambridge has opened up about the challenges of parenting and the importance of looking out for the mental wellbeing of young children and their teachers during a visit to The Royal Foundation’s ‘Mental Health in Education’ conference.

During a private round table discussion at Wednesday’s Mental Health in Education conference, Duchess Kate met with 11 professionals to discuss the potential impact of consistent mental health training for teachers as well as the challenges facing its implementation.

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge attends a “Mental Health In Education” conference at Mercers Hall, in London, Britain February 13, 2019. Photo Credit: Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS

The mum-of-three spoke of how she “was very naive as a parent” as she detailed the importance of the early years of a child’s life. As one of her key areas of work this year focussing on children’s mental health, Duchess Kate discussed her own experiences with the professionals during a meeting.

“And how critical it is, everyone looking after children at a critical time, teachers, parents, and everyone who’s caring for them, how important it is that we get it right,” she continued. “I didn’t know what some of the issues that perhaps we take for granted here as experts know about, but it’s being able to translate it to those who don’t have the training in a way that the points come across clearly.”

The Duchess later delivered a speech thanking those who were there in helping to improve mental health in schools.

Addressing the crowd she said: “It’s really so exciting to hear everyone here speaking with your wealth of experience about the importance of mental health and particularly the emotional development of our children and teachers.”

“Over the last eight years working with charities I’ve met some of our leading experts in mental health, addiction, family breakdown, homelessness and education.

“They have taught me over and over again that the root cause of so many of today’s social problems can be traced right back to the very earliest years of a person’s life and often over generations.

The scientific and other evidence is clear the first few years of a child’s life are more pivotal for development and for future health and happiness than any other single moment in our lifetime,” the Duchess said.

Later on Wednesday night, Duchess Kate attended the 100 Women in Finance Gala Dinner at the V&A Museum London in aid of the Heads Together legacy programme ‘Mentally Healthy Schools’.

The Duchess of Cambridge, patron of 100 Women in Finance’s Philanthropic Initiatives, arrives at a Gala Dinner in aid of Mentally Healthy Schools at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Britain, February 13, 2019. Photo Credit: Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS

All proceeds from the Gala will go to The Royal Foundation’s initiative which was launched by The Duchess at the beginning of 2018 – it helps schools better support children’s mental wellbeing by offering reliable and practical online resources.

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