The Princess of Wales established a foundation four years ago, which has now launched a significant study on the effects of digital device use on young children.

Kate Middleton’s initiative, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, has announced a £100,000 research project aimed at guiding families to better navigate the digital era. This announcement closely follows the Princess’s heartfelt essay on the subject, underscoring her commitment to the cause.

The study will focus on mitigating the interruptions in parent-child interactions caused by digital devices, a phenomenon often referred to as ‘technoference’.

Just last month, Kate’s essay on maintaining meaningful connections amidst a digital landscape was published by her foundation, founded in 2021.

In her article, titled “The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World,” the Princess of Wales reflected on the challenges of parenting in a world that is increasingly digital and fragmented.

Kate and Prince William are parents to three children: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

The royal wrote: ‘For babies and young children, the pull of screens will be even stronger than for older children and adults, the habits more deeply ingrained as they grow. 

‘Yet this is precisely the period when children should start developing the social and emotional skills that will serve them throughout life,’ the mother-of-three added.

The Princess of Wales’ Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which she founded in 2021, has announced a new research project looking at technology impacts parent-child relationships (The royal pictured this week while giving a speech at the Future Workforce Summit at Salesforce Tower in London)

The Princess said the nation was currently ‘raising a generation that may be more “connected” than any in history while simultaneously being more isolated, more lonely, and less equipped to form the warm, meaningful relationships that research tells us are the foundation of a healthy life.’

She urged parents to strive to be ‘fully present with the people we care about’, saying ‘It means protecting sacred spaces for genuine connection: family dinners, conversations, moments of genuine eye contact and engaged listening.’

The new study will look at how to help parents build stronger connections in the early years of raising their kids, as well as finding a healthy balance with technology. 

The project comes after Savanta conducted an online poll in August of 2,105 adults in the UK and found 66 per cent would like more support for having a healthier technology and life balance.

According to the Centre, researchers will work with families across the UK to tackle digital disruption and looking at how to reduce its impact. The results will help shape resources for practitioners.

‘Nurturing relationships between babies, young children, and the adults in their lives are critical to the development of the core social and emotional life skills, which we know are the foundations of a healthy, happy and connected society in the future,’ Executive Director of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, Christian Guy, said.

‘There have been numerous studies about how digital devices impact relationships, but there is currently a lack of evidence about what is causing people to turn to their digital devices at times when it is interrupting family life and, importantly, how to help people reduce this unwanted interference. 

‘The Centre is seeking to address these gaps in research, so we find the solutions to make a real difference to families’ lives.’

The royal, pictured, gave her first speech in two years this week, at the Future Workforce Summit at Salesforce Tower in London

Last week, Kate spoke at the Centre’s Future Workforce Summit, which marked her first public speech in two years since her cancer diagnosis in early 2024.

The Princess said: ‘My passion and the work of The Centre for Early Childhood, stems from one essential truth; that the love we feel in our earliest years fundamentally shapes who we become and how we thrive as adults.

‘Love is the first and most essential bond. But it is also the invisible thread, woven with time, attention and tenderness, through consistent, nurturing relationships, which creates the grounded and meaningful environments around a child.

‘It is this texture, the weave of love, which forms a child’s emotional world and becomes the foundation, the very fabric of resilience and belonging.’