A MOTHER-of-four has shared an inspirational photo showing the behind-the-scenes of her life raising multiple children in the hope of bringing the ‘realness’ of parenting back to social media.
The candid snap shows the mum cooking dinner, breastfeeding her baby son and helping with homework, all while keeping another two children occupied by playing games on the kitchen floor.
Sharing the photo to her Facebook page and blog Mixed Mom Brown Babies, Jazmyne Futrell, 31, from California, USA, wanted to show the struggles she faces looking after four children.
She wrote: “Friends with no kids: ‘You go to bed at 9pm? I can’t fall asleep before 11pm. Mom friends: You go to bed at 9pm? I can’t seem to stay up past 8:30!
“With four kids I’m way too exhausted to even think about having a life after dark and way too busy to go to bed at a decent hour.”
Posing as part of her usual evening routine, Jazmyne cooks chicken noodle soup for dinner while breastfeeding her seven-month-old son Koehn in the photo.
Seven-year-old Karson can also be seen tugging at her shirt as he gets help with his homework, and daughter Kinley, five, and son Karter, three, sit at their mums feet while they play.
She posted the photo, which was taken by her husband of seven years, to show mothers that they are not fighting their battles alone when it comes to family life.
“There’s so much to say about this photo,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle. “I shouldn’t be cooking while holding my baby, my son has a ponytail as I didn’t have time to braid his hair, and my kids are on the floor.
“That’s why I posted it – there’s not enough realness on social media.”
Jazmyne has previously discussed the stigma associated with dads – wanting to break down the stereotype that dads deserve more praise for looking after children because of their gender.
Jazmyne explained that once, while out shopping with her family, husband Desmond took the children to a different store so she could try on clothes without distractions.
She said: “A woman told me she wanted to compliment me for my awesome husband as he was babysitting so I could shop.”
“He wasn’t babysitting his own children – he’s required by law to care for them. The bar is set so low for fathers.”
Women from all over the world have been praising Jazmyne for her realistic portrayal of motherhood, with many calling her a ‘warrior’, and one even dubbing her a ‘rock star’.
Jazmyne began blogging about motherhood after suffering from postpartum depression following the birth of her youngest child, partly fuelled by the pressures of ‘perfect’ social media mums .
“All the other moms looked amazing on social media,” she explained. “‘Many times I thought, ‘can I do this?’ – but I hope showing photos like this lets mothers know they’re not fighting their battles alone.”
The 31-year-old also shares the comments people have made when they see her and her four children on her blog, from assuming she is a young mum to her children having different fathers.
In other parenting news, Mums revealed the most bonkers children’s names they claim to have come across at nursery, including Nike, Magic and Chlamydia.
Plus, Netmums’ Annie O’Leary responded to a debate over toddlers wearing high heels, after Matalan released the shoes for tots as young as THREE.
And experts have also warned that sleeping with your baby ‘drastically increases risk of sudden infant death’, despite 3 in 4 parents STILL doing it.
