Interesting story about a mum who set up an Instagram account for her baby when he was 7 days old.
A mother who turned her one-year-old son into a social media "influencer" has spoken out after facing backlash for using the toddler as a "tool".
Stacey Woodhams from Brentwood, Essex, runs the Instagram page for her little boy, Ralphie, which has 15,000 followers.
Pictures of the perfect-looking baby can earn the family hundreds of pounds in sponsorships, and the family has managed to accumulate £10,000 worth of freebies including his clothes, bedroom furniture and days out using the account.
She has even banned family members from sharing photographs of Ralphie on social media, in case they interfere with his brand.
However, in return, the 28-year-old has received hate mail and threats from fellow mothers online, who accuse her of using her son as a "tool" and being an unloving mother.
She told The Telegraph that those accusations are not true, adding: "I know everything I do is for Ralphie’s future and genuinely because we love helping others. People are quick to buy anything endorsed by celebrities just because they have a status.
"But what we’re trying to do is grow our online online business, blogger page and influencer following whilst also helping to promote other small independent businesses. Yet I still get accused of being an unloving mother.
"What I do doesn’t define me as a mum and people should think carefully before commenting as suicide happens because of online trolls, and they’re factoring into that pool of online abuse and it’s just nasty and could be detrimental if the receiving person wasn’t in the right frame of mind."
Ms Woodhams agreed that there is a double standard when celebrities parade their children on social media.
She added: "I think it’s wrong that Kim Kardashian gets pardoned and can share intimate family videos and people support her and buy into her brand yet I share a gorgeous picture of Ralphie and I get called a terrible mother just because I have no status.
"I’m sure she gets abuse too but it's different - she’s protected by the super scale of her success so she couldn’t possibly see everything written online, whereas small time accounts are trolled directly and it’s hard.
"Super rich and celebrity statuses are already established and in essence can’t be torn apart or destroyed.. but trolls feel like they can affect small timers like us. But that’s all part and parcel of the struggle and challenger to better myself and work harder."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...one-year-old-son-instagram-influencer-speaks/
A mother who turned her one-year-old son into a social media "influencer" has spoken out after facing backlash for using the toddler as a "tool".
Stacey Woodhams from Brentwood, Essex, runs the Instagram page for her little boy, Ralphie, which has 15,000 followers.
Pictures of the perfect-looking baby can earn the family hundreds of pounds in sponsorships, and the family has managed to accumulate £10,000 worth of freebies including his clothes, bedroom furniture and days out using the account.
She has even banned family members from sharing photographs of Ralphie on social media, in case they interfere with his brand.
However, in return, the 28-year-old has received hate mail and threats from fellow mothers online, who accuse her of using her son as a "tool" and being an unloving mother.
She told The Telegraph that those accusations are not true, adding: "I know everything I do is for Ralphie’s future and genuinely because we love helping others. People are quick to buy anything endorsed by celebrities just because they have a status.
"But what we’re trying to do is grow our online online business, blogger page and influencer following whilst also helping to promote other small independent businesses. Yet I still get accused of being an unloving mother.
"What I do doesn’t define me as a mum and people should think carefully before commenting as suicide happens because of online trolls, and they’re factoring into that pool of online abuse and it’s just nasty and could be detrimental if the receiving person wasn’t in the right frame of mind."
Ms Woodhams agreed that there is a double standard when celebrities parade their children on social media.
She added: "I think it’s wrong that Kim Kardashian gets pardoned and can share intimate family videos and people support her and buy into her brand yet I share a gorgeous picture of Ralphie and I get called a terrible mother just because I have no status.
"I’m sure she gets abuse too but it's different - she’s protected by the super scale of her success so she couldn’t possibly see everything written online, whereas small time accounts are trolled directly and it’s hard.
"Super rich and celebrity statuses are already established and in essence can’t be torn apart or destroyed.. but trolls feel like they can affect small timers like us. But that’s all part and parcel of the struggle and challenger to better myself and work harder."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...one-year-old-son-instagram-influencer-speaks/
