A parenting coach has revealed the ‘child-led parenting methods’ that Mike and Zara Tindall rely on to ensure their ‘children's happiness and wellbeing is respected.’
- Mike and Zara Tindall are 'breaking away' from 'old fashioned royal parenting techniques' to give their children a 'relatively normal childhood,' a parenting coach has shared.
- According to the expert, the royal couple rely on ‘child-led parenting methods’ that prioritise their children's 'happiness and wellbeing.'
- In other royal news, Parenting expert decodes Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s ‘different styles’ of parenting that allow them both to ‘excel in their space’.
The Royal Family's youngest members have been spotted out in public more so this year than ever before, with a range of royal engagements and celebrations punctuating the calendar. Subsequently, this has also meant that the royals' parenting techniques have been on display for all to see and Mike and Zara Tindall's approach in particular has caught the eye of one parenting expert.
The royal couple, who met at a bar in Australia back in 2003 and tied the knot in 2011, share three children together, Mia, nine, Lena, four, and Lucas, one, and have shared that they won't be adding any more kids to their brood.
Both Mike and Zara are working parents, with Zara helping to ‘normalise and challenge mum-guilt’ for other working parents, meaning that striking a work/life balance that allows for family time as well as career development can be difficult. It's a struggle that many will understand. While the promise of a four-day working week and the government's pledge that more working parents in England will soon benefit from free childcare may make reaching that goal a little easier, it's a stressful task to fit everything in.
For Mike and Zara, the internet may have been the answer to their struggles. A parenting coach has shared how they use 'child-led' parenting methods, a popular topic on online parenting sites, to ensure their children feel 'respected and valued.'
Sophie Pickles, a parenting coach for Munchkin, told The Express, "Zara is in touch with modern life in a way that has been inaccessible to royals in the past.
“Access to social media, parenting forums, parenting podcasts that give tips and anecdotes of things that happen outside of her circle, and online experts just a click away, will undoubtedly mean that Zara is able to access a wealth of modern parenting information that was simply not available to older members of the Royal Family.
“We are fortunate to live in a time where child-led parenting methods are gaining ever more popularity and children's independence, happiness and wellbeing is valued and respected. It is clear that Zara and Mike take on board some of these methods when raising their own children, especially as we know that they encourage their children to follow their passions and spend lots of time in the great outdoors.
“Sport is encouraged as a hobby and we know that this will improve the children's physical skills, persistence and try-hard attitude as well as promoting positive mental health, something that is undoubtedly of great importance to the family.”
But it's not just modern techniques influencing the couple's parenting style. Much like Prince William's upbringing influenced how he parents his children and Prince Harry's own childhood shaped his approach to fatherhood, Sophie shared how Zara's 'traditional' upbringing likely impacts her parenting techniques.
She explained, "We often think back to our own childhood when raising our children, often modelling certain techniques on the way we were raised – or in certain instances, vowing to parents in the opposite way.
“Zara's traditional royal upbringing is bound to have an impact upon the way in which she chooses to parent and she will value and encourage good manners, academic success and determination. We know that Zara and Mike foster competition in their children, encouraging them to set out to win, just as royals have done for generations."
Despite this, Zara will also 'want to break away from' the 'old fashioned' parenting techniques that punctuated her childhood, the expert said. “Just as Zara has forged her own path in life, I am sure that she will also want to break away from some of the more old fashioned royal parenting techniques and traditions," Sophie revealed.
"While their children will grow to lead very privileged lives, with the Queen as their great grandmother and cousins in line to the throne, they are likely to feel less caught in the spotlight than Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
“This opportunity to lead a relatively 'normal' childhood will undoubtedly have a positive effect on their mental health as they grow.”
