Overview

• Catherine published a co-authored essay with Harvard psychiatrist Robert Waldinger through the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood on October 9, 2025.
• She describes pervasive device use as creating constant distraction that leaves people physically present but mentally absent during family life.
• The piece warns that checking phones during conversations or meals denies a basic form of love and can leave children more isolated with weaker relationship skills.
• She references the Harvard Study of Adult Development to emphasize that the quality of human relationships is a key predictor of lifelong health and happiness.
• As a practical example, Catherine and Prince William have withheld smartphones from George, Charlotte, and Louis, while urging parents to model device restraint without demonizing technology.