Princess launches Shaping Us campaign for early years support
THE Princess of Wales has said “it is more important than ever” to support the development of young children as she launches her new early years campaign.
The Shaping Us campaign aims to improve society’s understanding of the importance of early childhood in shaping adulthood and society as a whole.
The long-term project, launched today by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, is said to be Kate’s “life’s work”, which she hopes will influence attitudes towards children in the early years period of their lives.
Kate said: “The way we develop, through our experiences, relationships and surroundings during our early childhood, fundamentally shapes our whole lives. It affects everything from our ability to form relationships and thrive at work, to our mental and physical well-being as adults and the way we parent our own children.
“These are the most preventative years. By focusing our collective time, energy and resources to build a supportive, nurturing world around the youngest members of our society and those caring for them, we can make a huge difference to the health and happiness of generations to come. All of society has a role to play in this, even if you are not directly involved in a child’s life, because we are all responsible for building a more compassionate world in which our children can grow, learn and live.
“In these difficult times, it is more important than ever to help support parents and caregivers provide loving safe and secure homes for their babies and young children to survive.”
A 90-second claymation film has also been released, depicting how the development of a young girl from the age of zero to five is shaped by interactions and her environment, and will be shown in cinemas from Friday.
The campaign has the support of a number of notable faces, including Professor Green, Fearne Cotton, Giovanni Fletcher, Zara McDermott and Leah Williamson.
Amanda Berry, who leads the Royal Foundation, which is funding the project, said: “We’ve been raising awareness of the extraordinary impact of the early years and highlighting the need to increase societal understanding of the transformative impact of early childhood.”