From afar, it is easy for us to see the royals as a perfect family.
But as Kate Middleton and Prince William recently reminded us, they encounter the same parenting problems that we do.
The doting father spoke out about on of his and Kate’s biggest problems when it comes to parenting - the appropriate amount of screen time.
“We still haven’t worked out what the right balance is for online time,” the duke told Channel 5 News.
“How on earth are we going to police [phone access] and have family time?"
— Channel 5 News (@5_News) November 16, 2018
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are worried about a challenge most parents face: how will they get their children off their phones?#AntiBullyingWeek | #StopSpeakSupport | @simonvigar5 | @headstogether pic.twitter.com/kfyHe57GMF
“It’s quite difficult, it’s still a very fluid dynamic. We’re going to have that discussion with our family, how on earth are we going to police… and have family time when the phones are all put down and you’re offline?
“Because we’re all so connected now, we’ve got to say, 'right, for instance, we’re eating now'.”
The parents, like most, are still trying to find the balance between screen time and family time that works best for them.
The royals went on to ask a group of schoolchildren about how often they’re on their phones, to which they laughed and replied: "a lot".
And when asked if they knew any other kids without smart devices or who weren’t allowed to be online, the children looked puzzled. Everyone they knew had a phone or at least access to one.
“This generation are going to be the first generation to grow up fully immersed in mobile phones, social media, lots of stuff,” William said.
“And yet our generation, the older generation, the parent generation, we’re completely left at: ‘How do we deal with this? Where do we go to? Where do you learn about how to look after your children’s digital world?”
The couple’s comments come just after Prince William’s moving speech about cyber-bullying.
“We have to acknowledge that much of the early optimism and hope of social media is giving way to very real concern, and even fear about its impact on our lives.” — The Duke of Cambridge #AntiBullyingWeek pic.twitter.com/75cBTvTAgm
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 15, 2018
The dad said he wanted to work with Cyberbullying Taskforce in an effort to keep his children and their generation safe from online bullying.
He hopes for the people behind social media platforms to make them a safer place, especially for children.
“Surely together you can harness innovation to allow us to fight back against the intolerance and cruelty that has been brought to the surface by your platforms.”
