Louise Thompson has said she is ‘deeply devastated’ as she finally issued an apology for her out of touch potty training comments made earlier this week.
On Thursday, the former Made In Chelsea star, 36, and her husband Ryan Libbey, 35, with whom she shares son Leo, four, sparked backlash after appearing to ‘mock’ children who are still wearing nappies by the time they start school.
Speaking on their podcast He Said, She Said, the couple discussed the statistic that one in four children are sent to school before they are potty trained.
Louise admitted she was ‘shocked’ by the statistic before laughing when Ryan said ‘that’s a raw deal’ for teachers, leading to backlash from followers, with many pointing out reasons, including children with Special Educational Needs.
And now on Saturday, Louise took to Instagram to share her deepest apologies as she explained it was never her intention to offend and she has ‘tremendous admiration’ for mothers struggling.
Speaking to her followers she began: ‘The first thing I want to say is that I am just so sorry that I have upset anybody and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
Louise Thompson said she is ‘deeply devastated’ as she FINALLY issued an apology for her potty training comments in an Instagram video on Saturday
‘It was never our intention to go out there and offend so many people let alone a community of parents and children that have so many challenges as it is and both Ryan and I are deeply devastated.’
Explaining the context of the podcast clip she continued: ‘The statistics we were referring to in the podcast that came from a Guardian article that was published back in January and it was not referring to children that had Special Educational Needs or a disability but it doesn’t matter because what this has taught us is that we should have considered those other groups of children and this is an area that is so under-discovered.
‘I have watched all the videos and read all for the comments I have nothing but tremendous admiration for the mothers out there having heard their stories.’
Encouraging feedback she said: ‘I would love mothers that are struggling on a daily basis to keep messaging me so I have a better understanding of what you are going through and perhaps we can have a more informed conversation on the podcast at some point in the future as I think it is so important to keep raising awareness for these kinds of topics.’
Louise, who has a stoma bag and has been very open with her followers about her medical conditions added: ‘I obviously have an invisible disability myself so I am particularly sensitive to these sorts of topics.
‘I think so much of the battle is finding the courage to speak up about them so that people that don’t understand them do, so we feel like a less marginalised group in society. So hopefully this is the beginning of a wider conversation.’
She concluded: ‘I promise this has been such an important lesson and not one that I take lightly. If anything it has given me lots of information to keep having these conversations across my platforms.
‘I have to say it takes so much gut and gumption to advocate for your children so you should be so proud of yourselves and I totally understand where all of this energy is coming from as I have been that person too.
‘Thanks for everyone who has DM’d me and those who have said we should meet up to have a further conversation.’
Can public apologies undo damage from careless comments?
On Thursday, the former MIC star, 36, and her husband Ryan Libbey, 35, sparked backlash after appearing to ‘mock’ children who are still wearing nappies by the time they start school
Prior to her statement on Saturday, after removing the clip from Instagram, the duo were slammed for their initial response, in which they failed to apologise
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Louise Thompson is blasted for failing to apologise and branded ‘ableist’ over potty comments
Prior to her statement on Saturday, after removing the clip from Instagram, the duo were slammed for their response, in which they failed to apologise, writing: ‘In a previous clip we included a conversation around potty training based on recent stats and our own lived experience…
‘This however did not include the very important reference to SEN children and families which was an oversight so we removed the clip to avoid further offence. It’s an important topic we are very keen to learn more about.’
In the original video, Louise said: ‘I think a basic human right is to teach your child before the age of four how to use the loo and how to wipe their bum.’
The couple laughed again as Louise said: ’28 per cent of kids are going to reception unable to eat and drink on their own. That’s like almost a third of children…
‘So, you’ve got a large number of kids in reception who have got nappies on and they can’t feed or drink themselves.’
The comments sections on the podcast’s social media accounts were flooded with criticism from parents, including accounts dedicated to SEN (Special Educational Needs) children have also reposted the clip with their own commentary.
The official account for the podcast, which is produced by Louise’s brother Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks’ company Staying Relevant Productions, removed the clip and edited the conversation out of the podcast.
Sam has spoken openly about his ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) diagnosis, and has recently written the book You, Me & ADHD.
The statement was soon flooded with comments from enraged critics, with users writing: ‘It would be much better to make a video apologising for generalised comments rather than deleting the post and hoping the backlash goes away…’
‘You were laughing! Whatever the reason might be that a child can’t use the toilet or do anything else you might deem age appropriate, why is that funny to you? What qualifies you to publicly make assumptions about other families?…
‘Poor excuse no apology in sight . Shame on you… lots of words to avoid saying sorry… so this is your apology …. Shame on you !!!! Educate yourselves !!!…
‘They are so obnoxious and uneducated about the whole situation! Do your research as to why next time, don’t just look at the stats!’
The statistics quoted by Louise and Ryan come from an annual survey of primary school staff in England by the early years charity Kindred Squared, which states that ‘teachers estimated that 26 per cent of the children in their reception class were having frequent toilet mishaps, rising to more than one in three (36 per cent) in the north-east.’
The survey also found that 28 per cent of children were unable to eat and drink independently and 25 per cent were struggling with other basic life skills.
That figure does not account for the proportion of children whose delays may be related to disabilities or special educational needs.
