In a new Instagram video Duchess Kate, wearing a disc pendant engraved with the initials of her three children (G, C and L), explained how she wanted to know “what more we could do to help prevent some of today’s toughest social challenges.” This concern with the importance of the first five years of a child’s life has now resulted in The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which Kate said in a caption she is “proud” to be launching. The duchess explained in the video that the center’s aims are to “raise awareness of why the first five years of life are just so important for our future life outcomes, and what we can do as a society to embrace this golden opportunity to create a happier, more mentally healthy, more nurturing society.” View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@dukeandduchessofcambridge) She went on, “By working together, my hope is that we can change the way we think about early childhood, and transform lives for generations to come. Because I truly believe big change starts small.” Big Change Starts Small is also the title of the centre’s inaugural report that has just been published by the Royal Foundation. Highlighting the economic cost of failing to address issues such as addiction and poor mental health with early intervention, it reveals that, if these issues were tackled earlier in a person’s life, £16.13 billion ($22.45 billion) could be saved in England. In a letter included in the report, Kate writes about how our first five years of life “lay important foundations for our future selves,“adding, “This period is when we first learn to manage our emotions and impulses, to care and to empathize, and thus ultimately to establish healthy relationships with ourselves and others.” View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@dukeandduchessofcambridge) Our experiences in these crucial early years, the duchess says, will have “a lifelong impact on our future mental and physical wellbeing. Indeed, what shapes our childhood shapes the adults and the parents we become.” An aide to the Duchess of Cambridge said that for Kate, the importance of early childhood and the impact these years can have on a person’s future life is the “social equivalent to global climate change” and is “concerned that it is not being treated seriously enough.” Next up, all the royal style from Royal Ascot 2021!
