Most parents have at least one story of their young kid acting out in public. Kids don’t always act appropriately for the mood of the gathering, and that’s expected because they’re young. Most people have some compassion for parents having to navigate restless or difficult behavior from their kids. But for Kate Middleton and Prince William, when one of their kiddos acts less than perfect, millions of eyes are watching.
That’s a lot of pressure because even royal kids will be kids.
Being on such a large stage, where the eyes of the world are watching and judging, there has to be immense pressure for Kate and Prince William.
Over the summer, their kids – 9-year-old Prince George, 7-year-old Princess Charlotte, and 4-year-old Prince Louis — made more public appearances than we had seen in the past.
Kids will be kids, but royal kids live with expectations.
Most of us don’t have to worry about our kids sitting still and understand the young ones will be restless if they have to sit too long. That’s true for the royal kids too, obviously. And we saw that happen during the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee last summer.
Prince Louis struggled to sit still and was photographed sticking out his tongue at his mom at one point. And there’s been several similar instances during the kids’ lives.
Over the years, we’ve seen how Kate handles the kids getting a little out of line.
One thing Kate always seems to do when her kids need some redirection is lean down and talk to them. But what is she saying?
According to the new book Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, per Hello, author Tom Quinn learned, after speaking to former employees of the royal family, that Kate uses a specific phrase to tell her kids to zip it and to focus.
Turns out, Kate has a 'secret code' she uses that quietly tells her kids to stop acting up.
“When Prince Louis misbehaved at the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, for example, by sticking his tongue out at his mother, Kate’s reaction was praised by teams of expert commentators,” Quinn wrote in his book. “She apparently used a secret code to calm the children, as she does on occasions — she simply says, ‘Let’s take a break.’”
Quinn added: "But as a former staffer explained, the children know these few words carry far more weight than we might imagine."
Eyes have been on Kate’s parenting style since she became a mom, and many experts say she’s doing a great job.
“She gets down to their level to talk to them but lets them be children,” said Rebecca Chicot, founder of Essential Parent and the author of the Calm and Happy Toddler, according to The Sun.
“She has a lovely balance of sensitivity and gentle boundaries. She doesn’t expect them to behave like little adults and knows that children go through perfectly natural stages like tantrums.”
