I fight daily parenting battles over homework, chores, screen time, whether sixth-grade girls should be able to wear mascara — and on and on. Beyond all of this, one of our biggest regular battles happens in the car — specifically, during the morning drive to school 5.1 miles across town in Los Angeles traffic before I’ve had my coffee. (But who’s counting?)
That’s why I laughed when I read that Kate Middleton recently revealed what’s really happening during the royal school run. As seen in an Instagram clip and reported in People, the Princess of Wales shared that Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis all have very different ideas about what should be playing during the drive.
Speaking during a visit to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Kate explained that “everyone wants different songs on.”
Princess Charlotte, she said, is currently requesting Taylor Swift. (See also: Taylor Swift reveals the awkward moment the Kelces met the royal family.) Prince George prefers rock music and is a fan of AC/DC (who would have guessed?), while Prince Louis wants to listen to singer-songwriter Alex Warren.
It’s the same on my side of the pond, though the specifics are different.
My son is currently studying violin at school and has become a devoted fan of classical music. If it were entirely up to him, we’d spend every drive listening to orchestral pieces or, perhaps, a middle-grade audiobook. (We’re still not over The Wild Robot series.)
My daughter, meanwhile, has recently become a full-fledged Michael Jackson superfan after seeing the new biopic three times in theaters so far — and counting (this weekend will bring the fourth). If she controlled the playlist, we’d be listening to “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” and “Man in the Mirror” every morning without fail.
Then there’s me.
Personally, I’d love to use the drive to catch up on professional writing podcasts or listen to voice notes from friends. Unfortunately, neither option tends to be especially popular with children, and most of those voice notes are definitely not intended for younger audiences.
As much as royal life differs from ordinary family life, this particular disagreement feels remarkably universal. It doesn’t matter whether you’re leaving Windsor Castle or pulling out of an L.A. driveway. Put multiple people in a car together, and they’re all going to have strong opinions about what’s coming through the speakers.
Of course, the problem has only gotten worse in the streaming era. When I was growing up, families often listened to whatever happened to be on the radio. Now everyone has their own playlists, favorite artists, podcasts, and recommendations tailored specifically to their tastes.
More choice is great. More choice also means more negotiations. And I’m usually the last priority, having to save my content until after those kids grab their backpacks and head into school.
So while I can’t relate to raising a future king, I can absolutely relate to Kate Middleton’s latest parenting confession. The battle for control of the morning playlist is real — and apparently even royal families haven’t figured out how to solve it.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source creators.yahoo.com ’
