CARING KATE’S SMILES FOR THE LOCKDOWN BABIES
THE Duchess of Cambridge gave supportive parents the royal treatment yesterday with a park catch- up to hear how they have bonded during the pandemic.
Kate told mothers who have provided mutual support they should be “very proud” of what they have done to fend off feelings of isolation.
And she said: “It’s good being able to listen and being listened to while being off guard. It is so important for your emotional wellbeing.”
Mother- of- three Kate, 38, spoke to mums and their “lockdown babies” in Battersea Park, south London.
She wanted to show solidarity with parental support groups such as Home- Start, the National Childbirth Trust and a mothers’ app called Mush, all of which have assisted parents during the crisis.
She perched on a socially distanced bench in the park’s sunny Old English Garden to chat to mums.
And at one point she stood up, removed her sunglasses and cooed over Morgan Cassius’s six- month- old daughter Makena- Grace.
The Duchess, who wore a £ 59 pair of Marks & Spencer pink cropped trousers and a white T- shirt, was told how peer groups had struggled to meet up in person. But they kept up their work by phone or on video calls. Single mums Irma Martus, 47, and Carol Elliott, 41, told Kate how they had been helped by weekly phone calls from Home- Start Wandsworth. Home- Start volunteers give thousands of hours of “parent power” help, tackling issues from postnatal depression to bereavement.
Kate asked the mothers: “Does it help emotionally? Everybody needs to have those friendships.”
The Duchess also met mums Nalini Sadai and Jessie Brett, who provide mum support for the NCT, and told them: “You should be very proud.” Earlier Kate held a video call with eight of the organisations. She told them: “A huge well done to all of you. I know there’s a big team of you out there in communities across the country.” The NCT’s Sarah McMullan said the Duchess had been “brilliant”.
ATIME of national crises and anxiety demonstrates most clearly the incalculable value of the Royal Family. It showed yesterday as the Duchess of Cambridge chatted in a London park to the mothers of “lockdown babies”.
Kate, a mother of three herself, exuded serenity and shone with delight as she admired the children and encouraged their mothers.
Parents who have loved and nurtured their children during these abnormal months deserve celebration – and it is splendid that Britain has a royal who cares so deeply for their morale.