Mike Tindall reveals home-schooling daughter Mia during lockdown has been 'frustrating'
Many parents have been struggling to give their restless children an education while juggling other responsibilities during the coronavirus lockdown.
This includes Mike Tindall, who has admitted that home-schooling his young daughter Mia has been “frustrating”.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the former rugby star, 41, revealed that he and wife Zara Phillips – the Queen’s granddaughter – were keen for their eldest, aged six, to return to the classroom when schools are expected to reopen next month.
Acknowledging the controversy surrounding the government’s guidelines, which will see teachers and pupils back together from 1 June, he suggested that while there is no "ideal situation" it is important for children to have "some independence".
Read more: Princess Charlotte may stay home with brother George when schools reopen
Mike – who also shares one-year-old daughter Lena with the royal – said: “Zara still has hopes that the horses will get back, they still need training and working on, so I get to be a teacher in the mornings which is sometimes really nice, sometimes really frustrating.
“I don't think any child is a great home-schooler because they definitely listen to other people better than they listen to their parents."
He added: "Mia enjoyed it the first week because it was different being around mum and dad all the time.
“But then ultimately it's the same people who are telling her off or telling her what to do and I think she gets bored of that."
Read more: Prince William admits 'hardest time is dinner time' with three children at home
When asked if they would be sending her back to school at the first opportunity, the ex-sportsman replied: “The plan is, at the moment, that she would go back but obviously that’s still up in the air.
“Every day you read different things... we’ll just have to wait.
“There is no ideal situation. As long as they’re doing everything they can to make it as safe as possible.”
It comes as it was revealed that Princess Charlotte may stay at home with Prince George when schools reopen.
Read more: Zara Tindall complains about husband Mike's favourite new pastime in lockdown
She attends Thomas’s Battersea in south-west London, which is likely to follow official guidance in welcoming back first reception, year 1 and year 6 pupils.
Despite this, The Sunday Times has reported that Prince William and Kate Middleton are considering keeping the five-year-old – who is in reception – with her six-year-old brother, who is in year 2.
With their eldest child not among those intended to return to the classroom, the royal parents are keen to maintain the routine they have established during the pandemic.
