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Home / Lifestyle

Kiwi mum Sue Chapman on her adorable Instagram

By Emma-Jane McLennan
Christchurch Star·
29 Jun, 2016 10:42 PM3 mins to read

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Photo / via Instagram

Photo / via Instagram

Two small children sit quietly on a fluffy white rug, sporting designer gear, looking cute.

Their father blows bubbles to keep them entertained, and their mother snaps photos -- hundreds in quick succession.

A couple of minutes pass by. The children start to get restless. Their mother puts the camera down and gives them cuddles, saying "well done, wasn't that fun".

Photo / via Instagram
Photo / via Instagram

Later on, she will carefully select, edit and upload some of the photos for her 6000-plus social media followers.

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Sue Chapman is an Instagram mum.

It's all part of being a new-generation Snapchatting, Facebooking, Instagram-uploading parent, she explains.

"Instagram is being talked about as 'Tinder for mums'. I've got friends on Instagram who I've never even met, and that sounds crazy to some people."

Mrs Chapman regularly takes photos of her children - Lily, 13, Cora, 2, and Beck, nine-months-old - and uploads them to her social media under the name "Chasing the Chapmans".

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She is careful to stress that the children only feature if they want to: "Lily doesn't feature very much as she's the eldest and she doesn't want to. I would never, ever take photos if they didn't like it or were upset."

She is also aware that the photos are contrived: "Of course these photos are staged - my kids don't lie around on a white rug all day. When people ask if my life is really like that, I'll be like 'Oh, please' and send them a photo of the current situation, the mess."

The at-home mother, 33, says the social media facet of her life was developed when she started an online ethical, organic baby clothing store.

That didn't work as well as planned, but by the time she'd decided to wrap it up, she'd amassed thousands of followers and decided to keep it up.

She loves taking artsy photos, and they've become so well-liked, she's also started representing other brands. They send her free gear, she snaps her children wearing it and posts them online.

Photo / via Instagram
Photo / via Instagram

Malia Cardwell, also an Instagram mum, said that's what most mothers use their social media for.

"We're all either selling our own gear or promoting others."

Miss Cardwell, 36, is a mother of four daughters and co-owner of online handmade baby wear store, MumMa.

She uses social media to sell her wares, but agreed with Mrs Chapman that meeting other mums is a "big plus" of social media.

"I have coffee with a couple of the mums I've met through Instagram and the like, but it will be quite cool to meet some more soon."

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