Anne Hathway's Parenting Hack Comes Straight From The Royals Themselves

People often look to the famous as role models, so it's funny to hear that movie stars, themselves worshipped by fans and tabloids, likewise take their cues from fascinating figures in the news. It turns out that Anne Hathaway uses Kate Middleton and Prince William's parenting hack and it's something that sounds like it could be useful advice for us all.

As People reported, Hathaway, 36, told The Sunday Times that she particularly noticed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's way of raising children after she had her own son, Jonathan Rosebanks, 2, her first child with partner Adam Shulman.

"They get down on the child’s level and speak to them eye to eye to make their child feel empowered," the Serenity actress told The Sunday Times of London's Style section. "I thought that was really cool. I started doing that with Jonathan."

People noted that England's royals clearly model active listening as parents, frequently getting down on their knees to little Prince George or Princess Charlotte's level. They'll undoubtedly continue to do so when Prince Louis gets a bit older as well.

Taking an interest in a kid's thoughts and feelings is what some might call a "child-centered" approach, which is clearly very different than the stiff-upper-lip royals of old. They notoriously believed that children should be seen and not heard, and in fact, the UK's Independent newspaper noted that King George VI's infamous stammer was thought to have originated due to his tyrannical father.

In later generations, Prince Charles had a difficult emotional experience being shipped off to boarding school, at dad Prince Philip's insistence, as Vanity Fair noted.

With such a history, it's maybe not that surprising that Prince William would have chosen a much different kind of philosophy when it was his turn to be a father, with Kate as his mate.

Which in turn has inspired a whole new generation of parents, including Hathaway.

Hello! noted that William and Kate's signature technique of listening to, and empathizing with, kids is intended to boost kids' confidence and give them a bit more control over their circumstances.

For her part, Hathaway noted that having such patience is an imperfect process; she can only try her best every day to be an awesome, compassionate mom. "I’m not perfect, but if I’m frustrated or distracted, I’m good at making sure he’s safe and [then] walking away, calming down and then coming back to him," E! Online quoted her as saying.

In 2017, Hathaway spoke about motherhood and paid leave at the United Nations and told those in attendance that everything changed for her when she became a mother, something many mothers understand all too well. "I remember the indescribable — and as I understand it universal — experience of holding my week-old son and feeling my priorities change on a cellular level," Hathaway said, per Hello Giggles. "I remembered I experienced a shift in consciousness that gave me the ability to maintain my love of career and also cherish something else, someone else, so much, much more.”

It's clear that she takes her job as a mom very seriously and that she thinks that implementing Prince William and Kate Middleton's signature parenting technique is just one way that she can do it even better.