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The Duchess of Cambridge shares the findings of her landmark early years survey

Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images
Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images

From Good Housekeeping

The Duchess of Cambridge is passionate about working to support parents and carers in raising children through their crucial years of early development, and now the royal has announced the findings of the biggest study ever on those early years.

The research, commissioned by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and conducted by IPSOS Mori, includes a public survey which asked five big questions about the under fives.

The public survey was open for a month between January and February and during that time the Duchess conducted a nationwide tour, visiting Cardiff, Birmingham, Woking, London, Belfast and Aberdeen to speak to people about their experiences and opinions.

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The research "reveals what the UK thinks about the early years, and also explores how COVID-19 has impacted the perceptions and experiences of parents and carers of the under-fives," according to a social media post by the royal family, in which Kate can be seen in a classic white blazer.

Now, the Duchess has unveiled the big five insights that have been gained through the research.

1. People overwhelmingly believe that a child’s future is not pre-determined at birth. However, most people don’t understand the specific importance of the early years.
Answering the 5 Big Questions, 98% of people believe nurture is essential to lifelong outcomes, but just one in four recognise the specific importance of the first five years of a child’s life.

2. The reality of life makes it hard for parents to prioritise their wellbeing.
90% of people see parental mental health and wellbeing as being critical to a child’s development, but in reality people do very little to prioritise themselves. Only 10% of parents mentioned taking the time to look after their own wellbeing when asked how they had prepared for the arrival of their baby. Worryingly, over a third of all parents (37%) expect the COVID-19 pandemic to have a negative impact on their long-term mental wellbeing.

3. Feeling judged by others can make a bad situation worse.
70% of parents feel judged by others and among these parents, nearly half feel this negatively impacts their mental health.

4. People have been separated from family and friends during the pandemic and at the same time parental loneliness has dramatically increased. Disturbingly, people are also less willing to seek help for how they’re feeling.
Parental loneliness has dramatically increased during the pandemic from 38% before to 63% as parents have been cut off from friends and family. The increase in loneliness for parents is more apparent in the most deprived areas. These parents are more than twice as likely as those living in the least deprived areas to say they feel lonely often or always (13% compared with 5%). Compounding this, it seems there has been a rise in the proportion of parents who feel uncomfortable seeking help for how they are feeling from 18% before the pandemic to 34% during it.

5. During the COVID-19 pandemic, support from local communities has substantially increased for many - but not for all.
Across the UK, communities have united powerfully to meet the challenge of unprecedented times. 40% of parents feel that community support has grown. However, parents in the most deprived areas are less likely to have experienced this increased support (33%) than elsewhere.

Read more about the research and findings on the royal family's website.

The Duchess is also sharing information on the Kensington Royal Instagram page, including videos about the findings and why they're so important.


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