Kate Middleton Speaks Out On Being A Mom, Says ‘Parenting Is Tough’
Kate Middleton’s parenting comes with many supports that ordinary people don’t get. The Duchess of Cambridge has a full-time live-in nanny to help care for her two children, Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, 20 months, and Middleton also has help from her own mother, Carole Middleton. Despite all of that royal privilege, Kate totally understands just how difficult parenting can be for moms who aren’t married to a royal prince.
The Daily Mail reports that on January 11, Kate made her first official royal engagement of the year when she visited the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families in London, England. Middleton is taking on more royal duties as Queen Elizabeth, 90, steps back.
During the visit, Middleton took time to sit down and listen to mothers share their stories. It was a tough day for Kate since many of the women who attend the center’s programs are dealing with financial pressures as well as the everyday problems that come with motherhood.
Some “have battled problems like depression and other difficulties in bringing up children,” and most suffer from personality disorders.
Mothers who have faced “family history of abuse and addiction,” and moms who struggle with their own “emotional problems” told Kate how they coped while managing to raise their children. Middleton was there to help and to listen as other moms talked about their lives.
Kate heard some tragic stories at the Anna Freud Centre and offered both a listening ear and her own compassion while mothers described their experiences. One mom of a 6-year-old boy talked about being “trafficked from Nigeria” and not wanting her son while she was pregnant.
“I got depressed really badly. I needed help because I was trafficked to this country.”
The two came for treatment three years after the boy’s birth and “are much improved” thanks to the help they received. Another young woman described what it was like going through having her first four children taken away because her own background from “a really bad family” left her without the support she needed.
The Times of India writes that Kate recognized the extraordinary achievement of the parents at the Anna Freud Center, where the Duchess is a patron. Even though she has so much help, Middleton admitted that it can be difficult for her to be sure she’s doing a good job of bringing up Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Middleton shared that no matter what the family situation is, she believes that “parenting is tough,” and she expressed her heartfelt admiration for the moms at the center.
“With the history and all the things and the experiences you’ve all witnessed, to do that on top of your own anxieties, and the lack of support you also received as mothers… I find it extraordinary how you’ve managed actually. So really, well done.”
Kate Middleton gets real about being a mom: "Parenting is tough" https://t.co/7Er67zzBpJ pic.twitter.com/FxRq7fQGvp
— ELLE Canada (@ElleCanada) January 12, 2017
Kate Middleton’s husband, Prince William, is second in line to the British throne, and Kate is always “preened to perfection,” with assistants of every kind to get her through the day. It turns out that when it comes to being a mother, she’s a “mere mortal” just like the rest of us, according to the International Business Times. Middleton had no hesitation in admitting that “bringing up children is no walk in the park.”
One of the staff asked Middleton if she was prepared to “spend the morning with a group of children under five,” and Kate was totally ready.
She said, “I did just leave a room of six under threes.”
It’s not known if Middleton had set up a play date for George and Charlotte, but that would certainly explain the room full of toddlers.
Kate later accompanied Prince William on a visit to the Child Bereavement Centre, where the prince had some kind words for a little girl whose father recently passed away.
“Do you speak about your daddy? It’s very important to talk about it. Very, very important.”
The 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death takes place this year. Kate, William, and Prince Harry are preparing the low-key commemoration for Diana. E! Online reports that the royal brothers want to remember Diana by organizing events that “commemorate her life and compassion.”
Although Kate’s experience of royal motherhood is filled with supports and luxuries, it’s lacking one thing that many other moms get to have. Middleton never knew her mother-in-law, and Prince William’s child-loving mother never got to be a grandmother.
[Featured Image by Matt Dunham/AP Images]
