Need for 'genuine human connection' has never been greater, says Kate

The Princess of Wales said the need for "genuine human connection" has never been greater.

In an essay reflecting on her visit to Reggio Emilia - her first overseas trip since 2022 after her cancer diagnosis - Kate wrote about the Italian city's approach to teaching young people.

She said: "The people of Reggio Emilia have shown that happy childhoods are the foundation of happy communities, and that genuine connection begins with listening and understanding.

"In an increasingly digitalised world, where so much of life is mediated through screens, the need for genuine human connection has never been greater."

The princess also wrote that "awareness, empathy, humility, and above all, love" can be nurtured by "spending time in nature or being creative" in the essay, published on the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood's website.

She added: "These foundational qualities help us relate to others, understand our place in the world, and ultimately find meaning in life.

"All of them echo a way of being we knew instinctively in childhood, marked by openness, curiosity and emotional immediacy."

It follows the princess making a two-day visit to the city in April, where she travelled to Italy to learn about the Reggio Emilia approach to early years development.

It's recognised across the world and stresses the importance of parents, educators and the environment - "the third teacher".

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The princess has been outspoken about concerns of phones and children, writing in an essay co-written with a Harvard professor last year that the devices are creating an "epidemic of disconnection" in families.

Last October, the Prince of Wales also shared in an interview that he and Kate do not allow their children - Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and eight-year-old Prince Louis - to have mobile phones.

He told Eugene Levy on The Reluctant Traveller that the no-phones rule is something "we are really strict about".

It also comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a social media ban for under-16s on Monday, expected to be in place early next year.

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