Prince William and Kate Middleton Are the New Faces of This Parenting Technique

Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton touched down in Canada on Saturday as they began an eight-day tour of the country. Their two children, George and Charlotte, followed the prince and duchess in tow. At one point after disembarking from the plane, Kate Middleton crouched down to talk to George, engaging in the parenting technique known as active listening, Daily Mail reports.

This particular style of parenting, however, didn’t appear to fare well with the Queen, particularly during royal events. In June, Queen Elizabeth reprimanded Prince William for squatting down to speak to George during the Trooping the Colour ceremony. The Queen told him, “Stand up, William,” a request that he quickly obliged.

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This parenting technique, however, is highly praised by experts, as PEOPLE pointed out this summer. Child development guru Gill Connell and author of A Moving Child is a Learning Child explains why active listening is such a valuable form of parenting. Connell told PEOPLE, “Active listening is one of the most important ways you can send the message, ‘You’re important to me.'” Connell explains that responding with both “verbal and nonverbal cues such as nodding, smiling and hugging” are a great way to “foster self-esteem in powerful ways while encouraging him to communicate even more.”

Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton have quickly become the new faces of this parenting technique, although it’s still not Queen Elizabeth-approved.

[Daily Mail]