The Princess of Wales has warned parents on the effects of smartphones and digital devices on the development of young children, saying they play a key role in an “epidemic of disconnection”.
“While digital devices promise to keep us connected, they frequently do the opposite,” the mother-of-three wrote in a joint essay with Professor Robert Waldinger from Harvard Medical School.
She added that the challenge was “particularly acute” for babies and young children born into a world full of digital technology.
“We’re raising a generation that may be more ‘connected’ than any in history while simultaneously being more isolated, more lonely, and less equipped to form the warm, meaningful relationships that research tells us are the foundation of a healthy life,” she continued in her essay.
Her essay comes after Prince William revealed in an interview with Eugene Levy that none of the couple’s children were allowed phones.
She added that according to findings from Harvard’s adult development study, the best predictor of a happy and healthy life was the quality of connections one has with other people.
“If you could invest in just one thing to help you and your family thrive, invest in the relationships you have with each other,” she said.
“Look the people you care about in the eye and be fully there – because that is where love begins.
“For babies and children who are raised in attentive and loving environments are better able to develop the social and emotional skills that will allow them to grow into adults capable of building loving partnerships, families, communities,” she continued.
“This is our children’s greatest inheritance.”
In a social media post shared on X on Friday, the royal shared some photos of her visit to an Oxford charity that supports families with young children.
“Attention is the most basic form of love,” she shared in the caption.
“In our increasingly distracted world, it has never been more important to hold on to what truly connects us – to ourselves, to one another, and to the world around us,” she continued before thanking the community.
The essay was published by Kate’s Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood that was launched in 2021.
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