The Princess of Wales highlighted the importance of children's early childhood development, pushing workplaces to ensure families with young children receive the help and support they need.
Kate Middleton wrote an op-ed published Sunday in the Financial Times, discussing how the first five years of children's lives are crucial and why a robust support system for parents and kids is much more needed in these years than the others.
The princess shared that earlier last week, she created a Business Taskforce for Early Childhood, which aims to look into how everyone can work together to change society's view on early childhood and ensure it is prioritized.
"This is not only for the benefit of society today, but for all of us in the years to come. The taskforce creates a bridge between the scientific community - whose evidence so unequivocally makes the case for prioritising early childhood - and the business community. Businesses should play a significant role in changing attitudes, both within their own organisations and across their wider network of suppliers, customers and communities," Middleton wrote.
Focus on 'parental well being'
She suggested doing two things.
First is to prioritize building working environments that offer the support people need to cultivate and preserve their well-being socially and emotionally, especially for parents, citing that 75 percent of the U.K. workforce comprises mothers and 92 percent of fathers. More so, 75 percent of these parents are stressed in raising kids five years old and below, People reported.
She highlighted that "parental well being is the biggest single factor in determining a child's wellbeing."
Thus, if parents' mental health is not in a good place, how can children's well-being be in a good place? With this, she emphasized that employers have a significant role in providing parents and caregivers with a balanced, successful work life and nurturing home life during their children's formative years.
Focus on children's social and emotional development
The second thing she would want to do is concentrate on the children's social and emotional well-being, especially in their younger years. She stressed how right now is a perfect time "to invest in early childhood" as this can be a priceless downpayment for the collective future.
In a video the Princess of Wales posted on her Instagram account, she got to chat with the executive chairman of Iceland, Richard Walker, about her Shaping Us campaign.
She cited that businesses nowadays seek "soft skills" from people they want to employ - creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, flexibility, and resilience. She went on to state that it is interesting because the foundation for all those qualities is built in the early formative years of a child.
