Kate Middleton Uses Code Words With Her Kids

published 22 March 2020

When it comes to Kate Middleton's super powers, being an incredible mom is at the top of the list.
According to a report from The Sun, the Duchess of Cambridge uses code words to communicate with her kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, especially in public.
Kate also uses techniques like touching her kids' foreheads when they start to act up and getting down on their level to communicate, according to parenting expert Dr. Rebecca Chicot.

Kate Middleton is a lot of things. She's a duchess, a philanthropist, and, of course, an amazing mom.

Anyone who has ever raised (or, TBH, even babysat for any length of time) kids the ages of the Cambridge kids—Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 1—knows that achieving the kind of near-perfect behavior they display in public is no easy feat of parenting.

This is just a normal fact of life: Kids will be kids and that means not acting like perfect, miniature-sized adults every second of every day. Add to that the very public nature of being a member of the royal family, though, and Kate's parenting prowess is nothing short of incredible.

So, how does the Duchess of Cambridge do it? She has a secret language of sorts for communicating to George and Charlotte (and, someday, Louis) that they need to check their behavior.

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According to a report from The Sun, Kate's code word phrase for "calm down" is pretty simple: "Let’s take a break."

When Kate announces it's time for a break, George and Charlotte know that it's time to take things down a notch and, if they aren't out in public at the moment (because this code is used behind closed doors, too), they take a few minutes to engage in a quiet, solo activity, like reading a book or doing a puzzle, to regroup.

"It’s very hard for any parent to have to parent in public," Dr. Rebecca Chicot, founder of Essential Parent and the author of the Calm and Happy Toddler, told The Sun.

Kate also has some physical communication techniques that help her keep George and Charlotte calm in public, Chicot says.

"She seems to be good at making warm contact 'touch to the head' which is a nice connection," Chicot explained. "She gets down to their level to talk to them but let’s them be children. She has a lovely balance of sensitivity and gentle boundaries. She doesn’t expect them to behave like little adults and knows that children go through perfectly natural stages like tantrums."

"Kate is a sensitive and warm mum," Chicot added. "This is a called an authoritative style of parenting that is now encouraged. This is compared to an autocratic parenting that was encouraged in some circles in Victorian times (e.g. children should be seen and not heard)."

Kate Middleton's Most Iconic Fashion Moments

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the duke and duchess of cambridge visit south wales — (Image credit: WPA Pool)

August 5, 2020

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stepped out to visit Barry island, South Wales to speak to local business owners about the impact COVID 19 on tourism. She wore an Emilia Wickstead dress, find similar one here and Castañer espadrilles.

britain royals — (Image credit: JOE GIDDENS)

June 27, 2020

For a visit to The Nook in eastern England, Kate Middleton wore an affordable floral print dress from Faithfull the Brand. Not surprisingly, thanks to the Kate Effect, it sold out almost immediately. However, fans of the design can see buy clothing iterations of the of it here and here. She completed the casual outing look with a pair of Russell & Bromley coconut wedges (shop similar espadrilles) and Accessorize hoop earrings.

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Princess Catherine

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.