Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IN MOST CANDID INTERVIEW YET
She can come round mine for PG Tips anytime
AFTER months watching Royal affairs drift off course like a rudderless ship , thank God for a bit of normality.
Kate’s open and honest comments about parenting are a reminder that regardless of title, wealth or fame, navigating parenthood is never easy.
Spare a thought for her coming out of the Lindo Wing after George’s birth. Can you imagine having to get camera-ready and parade before a crowd of strangers hours after labour?
I only had to face my mother-in-law. That was hard enough.
I know how Kate feels about feeling lonely in those early years.
I was in a maternity ward for seven days after the birth of our first son. It felt like I’d been institutionalised.
But leaving was much tougher. All those amazing medics are gone. Your husband is looking to you for direction. You are looking at the wall. Every time baby grunts you’re convinced they’re about to die.
We’ve all experienced mum guilt. Every time I have a kid on FaceTime saying, “Mummy come home” I feel uneasy in the pit of my stomach.
Kate cherishes simple moments. It’s adorable that she has one particular photo of Charlotte smelling a bluebell that makes her smile. You can come round to mine for a PG Tips to offload about motherhood any time, Kate. MUMMY Our Emma with her two children
HAPPY FAMILY Kate and Wills with their trio
REVELATIONS Kate talks to Giovanna
midwives, it’s then a very lonely period between then and perhaps going into the educational system.
“There are some incredible communities out there, which I have been to see, that do as much as they can in terms of including parents, but it is quite a lonely period for a mother, and for families really too.
“Where do they go if they need support, whether it’s for their child or for themselves?
“And that’s why I’m looking at really trying to join the dots. That’s why I think it’s so important for communities like this, coming together, joining the dots for parents, with the children and the educational system.”
ON MAGIC MOMENTS
Asked what advice she would give to her younger self about becoming a mum, Kate says: “I’ve got this one photo of Charlotte smelling a bluebell, and really for me it’s moments like that which mean so much to me, and I try every day to put moments like that in, even if they’re small or even if I don’t have time, but that, in an ideal world, is what I would like to do.
“It’s the simple things that really make a difference. It’s spending quality time with your children.
“It’s not whether you’ve done every single drop-off and every single pick-up but actually it’s those quality moments that you spend with your child where you are properly listening to them, properly understanding what they feel and, if things are going wrong, really taking time to think, ‘How as a mother am I feeling?’
“‘Am I actually making the situation worse for my child because this is bringing up all sorts of things I feel, rather than just focusing on them and how they might be reacting or responding to certain situations?’
“That would be another piece of advice I’d like to give myself back then.”
Last May, Kate unveiled a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show to highlight the benefits of the natural world and encourage families to enjoy the great outdoors. Her woodland wilderness plot, complete with a rope swing that reminded her of her own upbringing,– formed part of her work on early childhood development.
The podcast with Kate was recorded at LEYF Stockwell Gardens Nursery in South London to promote Giovanna’s 5 Big Questions for the Under Fives survey. The online poll aims to help “build the healthiest generation in history by giving every child the best start in life”.