The Duchess of Cambridge visited the Henry Fawcett Children’s Centre in Lambeth on Tuesday morning to see how the Parents and Infants Relationship Service (PAIRS) works to support families through the Lambeth Early Action Partnership, or Leap.
While there, Kate revealed that Prince Louis is constantly on the move, and told Kriti Batta, the mother of a nine-month-old baby trying to walk, that she was “just helping him to balance.”
The Duchess also revealed that “Louis just wants to pull himself up all the time. He has got these little walkers and is bombing around in them.”
Finesse Perry, the mother of twin girls who played with Kate during her visit, later told ITV that “She asked me what it’s like having twins and I said it’s double trouble and she said like with her own children you have your ups and down.”
Leap Lambeth is a ten-year project “that aims to support the social, emotional, communication and language development of babies and children” in a variety of areas including diet and nutrition, parents’ wellbeing, social networks, and community.
Leap Lambeth is funded by the Big Lottery, and operates in four other locations, including Bradford, Nottingham, Blackpool and Southend-on-Sea; while PAIRS is funded through A Better Start, which Will and Kate visited last week in Blackpool.
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During her visit, Kate took part in a ‘Together Time’ session that helps parents recognise their babies’ cues and to build confidence while parenting. She also took part in a Circle of Security session, which helps parents understand their babies’ emotions and helps to develop their self-esteem.
After Kate’s visit, Laura McFarlane, Leap’s director said, “It really is very important the fact that Kate has come to see at very close hand how we actually support parents, in terms of developing stronger relationships with their children.”
She continued, “I think the importance of intervening early, she really understood that. Early intervention in the early years is critical. It could be the foundation on which we build better, stronger adults.”
