Duchess of Cambridge says early years crusade ‘not just about her own children’

The Duchess of Cambridge has said her crusade to get more attention on the early years of childhood is not just about her own children, but because it deserves to get the same attention as other great social challenges.

In a keynote speech launching the findings of the UK’s biggest ever study on raising children under five, Kate said: “People often ask why I care so passionately about the early years.

“Many mistakenly believe that my interest stems from having children of my own. While of course I care hugely about their start in life, this ultimately sells the issue short.”

In the pre-recorded speech played to an online forum of experts and journalists, she added: “We must do all we can to tackle these issues and to elevate the importance of the early years, so that together we can build a more nurturing society.

“Because I believe, the early years should be on a par with the other great social challenges and opportunities of our time.”

She also explained how she believes that the early years “are not simply just about how we raise our children”.

She added: “They are in fact about how we raise the next generation of adults. They are about the society we will become.”

Over half a million people reacted to Kate’s call in January to answer five key questions about bringing up young children.

The survey found that most people believe a child’s future is not pre-determined at birth, but only a quarter fully appreciate the importance of early years development.

Further research by Ipsos MORI also discovered that parents often feel judged and many have felt increasingly lonely and isolated during the pandemic.

The project has been described as a milestone moment for Kate’s work on early childhood.

For the past nine years she has heard from a number of organisations and experts about how difficult experiences in early childhood are often the root cause of key social challenges such as poor mental health, family breakdown, addiction and homelessness.

The Early Intervention Foundation has estimated that the cost of late intervention is around £17bn per year in England and Wales.

During her keynote speech, the duchess also said: “Over the last decade I have met people from all walks of life. I have seen that experiences such as homelessness, addiction, and poor mental health are often grounded in a difficult childhood.

“But I have also seen, how positive protective factors in the early years can play a crucial role in shaping our futures…The early years are not simply about how we raise our children.

“They are in fact about how we raise the next generation of adults. They are about the society we will become.”

Mother-of-two Lillianna Liger told Sky News about the difficulties she’s faced this year with two children under five and her fiance being furloughed.

The 30-year-old, from Hampton, said: “I felt as a mother, why is this happening to me, is anybody else feeling this, or am I the only one who is struggling? I was thinking ‘please somebody else tell me that it’s normal that your children are still awake at half past eight’, or ‘please somebody else tell me that you’re struggling to pay your bills or is it just us’.

“Are you worrying where your next meal is going to come from or do you know what you’re going to be doing on Wednesday, are you going to have work or aren’t you?”

Ms Liger turned to the organisation Home-Start, which helps over 27,000 families and 56,000 children across the UK with support and advice, as well as signposting where they can get help with food and clothing.

Its CEO, Peter Grigg, said: “This year like no other families are running on empty. Civil society, business, charities, community, and each of us in our daily lives, need to work in partnership to support families and their young children.”

Ed Vainker, CEO of Reach Academy in Feltham, was one of those chosen to be on the steering panel to help Kate’s understanding of early years education.

The academy includes a nursery and teaches children up to 18 years old, and Mr Vainker told Sky News he has seen first hand how many teenagers struggling with their mental health have experienced trauma in those early years.

He said: “The experiences that children have in the first few years can put them on a path to those choices, that kind of balance that allows them to really flourish, it absolutely is the case and we know so much more from the evidence about what matters and what’s important.”

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He added: “It’s really clear that there are pathways when children get to four, and there are schools, and then there are secondary schools, and sixth forms and universities and those are invested in and those are funded.

“It’s not so clear what are the institutions and the structures that help children at the youngest age and that’s what I think is needed.”

The duchess, as a member of the Royal Family, cannot be seen to be influencing government policy, but experts see these findings as a vital insight into public attitudes on the topic, and an important source of information for those working in the early years sector.

The research will also play a part in determining what areas the duchess decides to focus on, for what has been described as a lifelong commitment for her royal work.

(c) Sky News 2020: Duchess of Cambridge says early years crusade ‘not just about her own children’