'I treat my children like dysregulated adults' - Katherine Ryan on her parenting technique for four children aged 17 to 12 months
Katherine may be known as a comedy star, but she has some important thoughts about how to parent
Katherine Ryan is mostly known for her comedy chops. But she is also a very experienced in motherhood too, with four children, aged between 17 and 12 months.
And when it comes to parenting, there is one rule she likes to stick to - and it was passed down to her from her own mother Julie.
Katherine has teamed up with Gousto for a new campaign
Speaking exclusively to woman&home, Katherine, 42, said, “My mum never used a baby voice with us growing up, and always treated us with empathy, patience and respect.
“I try to be the emotional digestive system for my children, but otherwise, [I] treat them like dysregulated little adults.”
And Canadian-born Catherine extends that rule into what the family eat at mealtimes too. “I’m extremely relaxed about everything, and my approach to mealtimes has always been inclusivity rather than deprivation,” she says.
Katherine does remain 'relaxed' about meal times for her children too
“My teenage daughter is the most challenging of all my four children when it comes to eating at the minute, because she would exist on iced coffees and fried chicken if I didn’t deliver tempting, nutritious meals to her bedroom door.”
Katherine is working with meal subscription kit Gousto on a new campaign to tackle food labels, and while she admits she is "surprisingly bad” in the kitchen, there is one thing she can rustle up.
“I can actually make a really delicious chicken stir-fry, which I think is super versatile,” she says.
And the most important thing she’s learnt as a parent? “I can be extremely effective on five and a half years of broken sleep.”
“I’m always trying to make informed food choices for myself and my family, but sometimes you look at the back of a packet and think, ‘What is that?!’ So, I loved the idea of making all that information a bit easier to understand, and that’s exactly why I partnered with Gousto and nutritionist Rob Hobson to launch What-The-Food.co.uk.
“The tool lets you search an unfamiliar ingredient or scan the back of a food label to get a clear, scientific explanation from Rob, alongside a much simpler (and hopefully more amusing!) explanation from me.”
Katherine Ryan has partnered with Gousto and expert nutritionist Rob Hobson to tackle the food labels that are leaving Brits baffled with new AI-powered tool. For more information, please visit what-the-food.co.uk
