Angela Mollard: Kate’s early childhood work is genius – and we should ask her to bring it here

Australian parents lack confidence and real role models to help them build happy and resilient kids. Why not employ Princess power?, asks Angela Mollard.

I have an idea for Albo.

He should get on the phone to the Princess of Wales.

Calling in the King worked for the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. One lightning visit by Charles and Camilla and not only was the nation’s sovereignty given a right royal endorsement but the great orange buffoon over the border was swiftly put in his place.

This is the whole point of being part of the Commonwealth and it’s time we made use of the relationship.

Let me explain.

Our kids are in crisis. They’re struggling with mental health issues and an epidemic of bullying and suicide. They’re addicted to screens, they’re failing school – when they bother to go, they’re lacking resilience, they’re addicted to gambling, and this week it was revealed almost a third of young people thought it was OK to be jealous in a relationship and to track their partners.

Prince William and Princess Catherine in Scotland. Australia should be making use of being part of the Commonwealth by asking the Princess of Wales to implement her early childhood model here. Picture: Supplied

Here’s the worst thing, most parents don’t have a clue what to do about it.

Sure, they listen to parenting podcasts and follow influencers, and might ask their own parents for advice if they haven’t dismissed their own upbringing as trauma-filled and unnecessarily authoritative. But mostly they’re just winging it.

Because while they spend a year learning to drive or 13 years at school to become employable, parenting is something they learn on the job. Or from instinct. They spend more hours at ante natal classes learning how to pop out a baby than they do learning how to raise one.

Prince Louis and Kate, Princess of Wale. You just have to spot the little prince mimicking his big brother to know that the Wales kids are arguing with each other, refusing to eat their veges and leaving their jumpers at school just like ours. Picture: Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP

Which is where the Princess of Wales comes in. And not because she’s a perfect parent. You just have to spot little Prince Louis mimicking his big brother to know that the Wales kids are arguing with each other, refusing to eat their veges and leaving their jumpers at school just like ours.

No, the reason we need the Princess of Wales is because her early childhood work is genius and, as fully paid-up members of the Commonwealth, we should be asking her to implement the same model here.

Kate’s work doesn’t get the attention it deserves because we’re more interested in her cancer battle, her dresses and what she thinks of her sister-in-law. But just like the King, who is not just wearing the crown but wielding it with diplomatic brilliance, the wily Princess has convinced the rich end of town to cough up for Britain’s kids.

Through her Shaping Us campaign, she’s not just improving society’s understanding of the significance of the first five years of a child’s life, she’s convinced corporates such as Deloitte, IKEA, Lego, Unilever UK and a major bank and supermarket chain to join a taskforce to create a bridge between kids and business.

Catherine talks with Alaia Mai Humes, her mother Rochelle Humes and Kate Silverton in central London on January 30, 2023. The Princess of Wales was set to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the unique importance of early childhood. Picture: Eddie Mulholland/Pool/AFP

This isn’t royal ribbon-cutting and photo ops. Rather, what makes this initiative so quietly brilliant is its realism. It acknowledges that parenting doesn’t

happen in a vacuum. It occurs in workplaces, in the margins between meetings and in the stolen hours after night shifts.

By creating a task force that draws in titans of industry, the Princess is saying you can’t cheer for children’s futures if you’re making it impossible for their parents to raise them well. As the taskforce’s first report made clear, investing in early childhood could generate at least £45.5 billion ($95 billion) for the UK’s national economy.

Essentially, if you equip kids with improved social and emotional skills, and support parents and caregivers, there’s a reduction in the billions spent on remedial steps for adverse childhood experiences.

We need that excellence and commitment. Kate and William are reframing the modern monarchy, not as ceremonial but catalytic. If the late Queen ruled with the mystique of a gloved hand, the Princess is rolling up her sleeves. She’s not just lending her name to a good cause, she’s wrapping her public capital around it and walking it into the boardroom. As Time Magazine noted as they named the Prince and Princess in their inaugural Top 100 philanthropy list, the couple are “aligning social imperatives with sound business strategies and building corporate alliances to expand their reach”.

Australia should ask the Princess to bring her early parenting model Down Under. As part of the Commonwealth – and with no appetite for a republic in sight – it’s time we invited this rebranded modern monarchy to shine its star power on our kids. Prince William’s Earth Prize is global; why can’t his wife’s early childhood model be likewise?

Australian parents lack confidence and real role models to help them build happy and resilient kids. Our educators are despairing at our falling standards, particularly in maths. We can accept this mediocrity and the massive impact it will have on productivity or we can intercept in the years when our kids have the most plasticity.

Why not employ Princess power? Kate builds an international legacy project which will have cut-through for decades to come and we get a woman who has the rare ability to bring CEOs, politicians and parents around the same table. After all, no one says no to a future Queen.

ANGE’S A-LIST

Hostage Drama

Ben McIntyre’s The Siege is a gripping retelling of the six-day hostage crisis in the UK’s Iranian Embassy in 1980. Through detailed interviews with hostages and the main players, he’s captured the high drama and incredible work by the SAS.

Siren at 60

Liz Hurley has long been my favourite celebrity because she’s hilarious, doesn’t take herself too seriously and exudes chutzpah. She’s 60 on Tuesday and looks amazing but, more importantly, she soldiers on doing the unexpected. Love her.

Originally published as Angela Mollard: Kate’s early childhood work is genius – and we should ask her to bring it here