Kate Middleton: On Her New Job As ‘Huff Post’ Editor, Politics, And Parenting

The royals have been known to stay at the forefront of digital media, with Queen Elizabeth II sending her first email back in 1976 and having her first website as early as 1997. Kate Middleton has also proven to be a bit of a digital-savvy individual by penning her first digital article for the Huffington Post UK.

The Duchess of Cambridge has taken this opportunity to further share about the issue of children’s mental health in her launch of “Young Minds Matter,” which is a compilation of articles that focuses on the need to support young ones, within which she speaks about her own life as a mother to her little royals Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Kate introduces her work, along with the work of a number of others which appear in the series, by offering a pleasant greeting and appreciation to the Huffington Post for inviting her to be a guest editor. The Memo relays the Duchess’ words written on the publication’s site.

“It is such a privilege to have this opportunity to be Guest Editor of the Huffington Post today, and to celebrate the amazing work being done to improve and understand the mental health of young children.”

Additionally, Kate argues that mental health in all children must be seen as just as important as all other matters, such as their physical health. She urges “schools and communities to play their full role to help children who are struggling in ways that not always easy to see.”

For her first effort in this sort of endeavor, Kate has taken a rather firm stance on a political matter that is a testament to the underfunded juvenile mental health services in the U.K. As the Daily Beast relays, quiet and meek Kate is no longer. The new Duchess has purpose and clearly wants change. The publication elaborates on the political awareness this compilation will inspire and how it may encourage direct demands toward the U.K. government on the issue of children’s mental health.

“Kate’s words will be used as a stick which campaigners will gleefully use to beat the government for its woeful underfunding of juvenile mental heath services. Yes, Kate is urging a non-political approach in which families and communities listen to troubled kids and adjust mindsets, but she is also effectively inviting journalists to write about the British government’s neglect of juvenile mental health.”

Middleton uses her own personal experience, along with that of other parents, to hone in on the need for more support in communities. The Memo shares her words, from the perspective of a family who lacks funds and time to give their children the support they deserve.

“When families are short of time or money it is not always easy to know where to look for help or advice.Shortly after I got married, I started working with charities helping those affected by issues such as addiction, family breakdown and vulnerable children. As was to be expected, I often heard some heart-breaking stories about lives that had been torn apart, with devastating impacts for all involved, particularly children.”

Kate then goes on to link these early childhood situations and issues with behaviors and difficulties in early adulthood and the later stages of life.

“What I did not expect was to see that time and time again, the issues that led people to addiction and destructive decision making seemed to almost always stem from unresolved childhood challenges. It became clear to me that many children – even those younger than five – have to deal with complex problems without the emotional resilience, language or confidence to ask for help. And it was also clear that with mental health problems still being such a taboo, many adults are often too afraid to ask for help for the children in their care.”

Kate’s cause and efforts have certainly begun to bring more awareness to the fact that mental health services must become more readily available, not only in the U.K. but internationally as well. The Duchess is doing her best to shed light on a pertinent issue that lacks the necessary attention to make a difference.

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