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Kids behaving badly is old news – and especially during the coronavirus lockdown, parents have found the combination of working, homeschooling and a lack of access to childcare particuarly difficult to balanace. Prince William and Kate Middleton use a unique parenting technique to discipline their three children, replacing a classic technique used by parents across the world.

As an ambassador for several mental health charities, the Prince has replaced the traditional ‘naughty step’ with a ‘chat sofa’, believing it can help give his three children a happy childhood whilst teaching them to behave well.

A source told The Sun that the parents ditched the traditional technique in favour of a more modern approach that promotes talking about your problems.

They said the misbehaving child is asked to sit on the sofa where William or Kate will have a quiet chat with them, helping the children open up and discuss the issues with their parents directly.

They said: “Things are explained and consequences outlined and they never shout at them.

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“Shouting is absolutely ‘off limits’ for the children and any hint of shouting at each other is dealt with by removal.”

They said: “It is a military operation but you would never guess it because they work ferociously hard on their children’s upbringing and making it seem relaxed and happy for the three of them.

“They are very good at listening to the children but being firm.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have spent lockdown at their Anmer Hall country residence in Norfolk, where they have been homeschooling Prince’s George and Louis and Princess Charlotte.

Princess Charlotte is the only of the trio who is eligible to return to school, but her parents have opted to keep the unit together in the countryside.

Five-year-old Charlotte attends private school Thomas’s Battersea alongside her brother Prince George.

Prince William has frequently and openly spoken about his struggles with mental health and runs his own mental health charity called Heads Up.

He recently led a documentary on the BBC called Football, Prince William and our Mental Health.

He began to struggle after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, describing his loss in the documentary as a “pain like no other”.

He also revealed that becoming a father reawakened feelings and traumas he experienced when he suddenly lost his mother.

He said: “Having children is the biggest life-changing moment, it really is.

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“I think when you’ve been through something traumatic in life – your emotions come back in leaps and bounds because it’s a very different phase of life.

“And there’s no one there to, kind of, help you, and I definitely found it very, at times, overwhelming.”

He and his brother Prince Harry have both played an important role through their charitable work in promoting the importance of good mental health and trying to remove the stigma surrounding it.

The Prince also revealed earlier this month that he has been secretly working as a volunteer supporting people contacting a crisis helpline for mental health support, he has revealed.

Unbeknown to those who have accessed the Shout 85258 text-messaging service, Prince William is one of its 2,000 trained volunteers.

Kensington Palace was previously reluctant to say whether the royal was a volunteer for fear that Shout might be overloaded by people hoping to discuss their troubles with the future king.

The Duchess of Cambridge has also been hands-on with her volunteering efforts, taking part in “check in and chat” calls with those self-isolating or vulnerable as part of the Royal Voluntary Service’s NHS volunteer responders scheme.

Speaking to the BBC via video call, the couple opened up about what their family has been getting up to since lockdown was introduced.

Kate said: “Children have got such stamina. I don’t know how, honestly.

“You get to the end of the day and you write a list of all the things you’ve done in that day.”

“You’ve pitched a tent, take the tent down again, cook, bake, you get to the end of the day and they’ve had a lovely time.

“It’s amazing how much you can cram into one day, that’s for sure.”

The Duchess also admitted she had spoken to her young children about coronavirus, trying to explain it to them in a way that children can understand and not be scared by.

She said: “You don’t want to scare them and make it too over-whelming.

“I think it is appropriate to acknowledge it in the simple ways and in the age appropriate ways.”

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