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<\/a><\/p>\nThe essay is the latest step by the princess who actively works to spread awareness among parents of young children.<\/p>\n
“Our smartphones, tablets, and computers have become sources of constant distraction, fragmenting our focus and preventing us from giving others the undivided attention that relationships require,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sit together in the same room while our minds are scattered across dozens of apps, notifications, and feeds. We\u2019re physically present but mentally absent, unable to fully engage with the people right in front of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kate is the mother of three children- Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.<\/p>\n
Smartphones are disrupting family time together<\/p>\n
The Princess believes this \u2018technological interference\u2019 impacts a fundamental gift we can give others \u2014 which is our \u2018undivided attention\u2019.<\/p>\n
“Yet, increasingly, it\u2019s the most difficult gift to offer,” she continues in the essay. “When we check our phones during conversations, scroll through social media during family dinners, or respond to emails while playing with our children, we\u2019re not just being distracted; we are withdrawing the basic form of love that human connection requires.”<\/p>\n
Prince William echoes wife Kate’s thoughts<\/p>\n
Kate\u2019s thoughts come after her husband, Prince William, recently revealed that the couple are \u2018very strict\u2019 when it comes to their children\u2019s use of smartphones. Willian spoke to Eugene Levy on the Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler, and said, \u201cWe sit and chat, it\u2019s really important. None of our children have any phones, which we\u2019re very strict about,” he added.<\/p>\n
Kate, meanwhile, in her essay admits that regulating the use of phones and other tech is a challenge, especially at a time when children are born into a modern, digital-centric world.<\/p>\n
But it is a crucial element of her campaign that the early years are the most important to a person’s long-term well-being.<\/p>\n
Kate writes that neuroscience has shown that the first years of life are the most crucial for the formation of a child’s brain \u2014 and when that attention from others is most needed. That period, she says, \u201cis the golden opportunity to build strong foundations for future life outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPregnancy to the age of five is the fastest and most profound period of brain development in our lives, with an astonishing 1,000,000 new neural connections being formed every second,” Kate writes.<\/p>\n
The princess also points out that how families are less likely to have dinner together regularly these days. This, she says, is \u201csomething we know has an enormous impact on child development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are less likely to have friends over. We are less likely to join clubs and community groups,” Kate states. \u201cPerhaps most troubling of all, more people than ever report having no one they can confide in about what is going on in their life,\u201d Kate adds in the essay<\/p>\n
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