The Duchess of Cambridge spoke of her struggle with motherhood during a visit to Family Action on Tuesday, particularly with the dearth of resources available for new mothers.
“It’s so hard. You get a lot of support with the baby years,” Kate told a volunteer, “particularly in the early days up to the age of about one, but after that, there isn’t a huge amount – lots of books to read.”
Helping Family Action open a new, confidential helpline service for struggling families, Kate met with the charity’s organisers and volunteers and talked about ways to get families the help they need.
“I think it makes her human. It makes her in touch,” a volunteer named Sagari Sarkar told reporters after Kate’s visit. “She is a parent, a very active parent, and I think that’s what people like about her.
“The reason why she’s a great supporter of our service is that she does recognise that families have the same pressures and struggles and she’s no exception.”
FamilyLine is meant to help anyone struggling with issues pertaining to family life, “such as parenting challenges, family conflict, relationship difficulties or mental health and wellbeing,” according to Family Action’s website.
Family Action promises that all calls, emails and texts are answered quickly and in confidence by trained volunteers and Family Action experts.
Sarkar continued, “She may have slightly different circumstances to the rest of us but, you know, being a parent is being a parent. We all have the same struggles and challenges.”
Kate spoke of this last year, during a visit to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
“Personally, becoming a mother has been such a rewarding and wonderful experience. However, at times it has also been a huge challenge – even for me who has support at home that most mothers do not.”
The Duchess has been working behind the scenes on a steering group to improve the way society supports young people, so they grow up healthy, both physically and mentally.
One of the members of her steering group is the Chief Executive of Family Action, David Holmes, who hosted Her Royal Highness during her visit yesterday.
“We are so grateful to [Kate] for visiting Family Action’s services today, for her interest in our work addressing family pressures and for officially launching FamilyLine,” Family Action’s Chief Executive, David Holmes, said in a press release.
“The Duchess’s support will encourage many more families to talk about their ‘family monsters.’”
