Kate Middleton Has Strict ‘Rules In Place’ But Even Royals Have Difficulties Handing A Toddler

Jun 12, 2022

Raising kids is no easy feat, not even for royalty. It’s no surprise that children misbehave every now and then, and sometimes they need a little extra guidance from their caretakers to help lead them back toward the right path, whether it be advice from a teacher, an extra helping hand from a babysitter, or words of encouragement from their own parents. On top of that, children with siblings are bound to fight with each other from time to time. 

Even William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales have had to work on diffusing fights between their three children some days. The royal couple has three adorable children: 9-year-old Prince George, 7-year-old Princess Charlotte and 4-year-old Prince Louis. Although all children are in line for the throne, they don’t always act like proper princes and princesses. 

In fact, the group is known to get into some small arguments here and there. This is the age when children really start to begin to understand the world around them and want to express their opinions, even if it means disagreeing with their siblings.

Although there have definitely been some challenging moments from time to time, William and Kate have worked hard at enforcing strong parenting techniques with their children in order to raise them to be the best possible version of themselves. From finding creative ways to keep their kids from fighting to reprimanding them politely in public, it seems like they have some good ideas for struggling parents. Read on to find out more about how William and Kate raise their three adorable children.

A royal insider told The Sun that Kate is “very hot on manners,” specifically table manners, thank you letters and other little courtesies. A source also told Us Weekly that William and Kate have a "strict but fair" parenting style, and that even though George is to be king in the future, they do not spoil or coddle him. 

The source added, "The royals are renowned for being 'stiff upper lip,' but William and Kate have a more modern approach to parenting and are moving away from that mentality. Open communication is key for them. … (But they) set boundaries and have rules in place."

Looking at the interactions between the members of the Wales family, it’s easy to see that William and Kate really do care for their children. This is especially seen through their positive body language.

Patti Wood, who has both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Body Language and Nonverbal Communication, has analyzed the royal family before, and she talked with Insider about her discoveries in June 2019. She first explained William and Kate have exemplified positive body language over the years, from showing relaxation around one another to smiling happily with each other. At times, they have shown that they are “clearly confident and relaxed in the relationship.”

When speaking with Good Housekeeping in January 2018, body language expert Blanca Cobb talked about how the couple’s body language was proof that they are indeed the backbone of their family. “Overall, their attentive body language indicates that they’re in tune to their children’s emotional needs,” she said. 

Back in November 2020, Kate opened up about some of her greatest moments and most challenging times as a mother of three. According to Cosmopolitan, Kate conducted a survey called 5 Big Questions that ran to help get a better understanding of how a child’s early years can make a difference in the rest of their lives.

One of the questions was: “How do you manage toddler tantrums in your household especially with multiple children?” Kate replied: “Yes, that’s a hard one. I’d also like to ask the experts myself!” Fortunately for her, an expert by the name of Alice Haynes — Deputy Head of the Early Years Program at the Anna Freud Center — said that calmly explaining how you believe your child might be feeling could be a good place to start.

Still, it’s clear that no matter how many tools parents have, their kids are bound to act out at some point. For example, Kate’s youngest child, Louis, became the talk of the town due to his hilarious antics at the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in early June 2022.

During the pageant, Louis' face included a whole range of emotions, from boredom and uninterest to cheeky messing around with his mother. Seated next to one another, Kate and Louis even had a little face-off, as the youngster grabbed his mother by the chin, before he put his hand over her mouth to shush her! He followed that up by sticking his tongue out at her and poking a number of other cheeky faces at her.

While raising two little princes and one princess is not always the easiest task, it’s clear that Kate and William take it on with great stride and with a lot of love.

What do you think about William and Kate’s approach to parenting their three kids? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends.