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Home / Lifestyle

UK mum defends turning her baby into an Instagram 'influencer'

Daily Telegraph UK
3 Dec, 2018 09:58 PM4 mins to read

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Mum Stacey Woodhams argues, "we're trying to grow our online online business, blogger page and influencer following whilst also helping to promote other small independent businesses." Stock photo / Getty Images

Mum Stacey Woodhams argues, "we're trying to grow our online online business, blogger page and influencer following whilst also helping to promote other small independent businesses." Stock photo / Getty Images

A mother who turned her 1-year-old son into a social media "influencer" has spoken out after facing backlash for using him 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 (roughly $18,400NZD) 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.

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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."

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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."

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The account for Ralphie was originally set up when he was seven days old so the family could see him grow, but he quickly amassed over 1,000 followers.

She now spends hours each day running the account, and styling her baby for pictures, as well as running her own business from home.

Ms Woodhams makes sure she posts a photograph of Ralphie daily, and posts when frazzled parents are most likely to be scrolling on their phones, sometimes at 2am.

The work has paid off; she says she gets paid up to £375 for each sponsored post, as well as enjoying trips to hotels and theme parks.

The mother explained: "I've worked really hard to achieve what we have achieved and everything I do is for Ralphie and his future.

"If a photo of him in a tracksuit with snot running down his face and his hair is messy gets put on social media, that is not representative of the brands we are representing.

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"It sounds awful referring to him a brand because he is a human and a child but essentially, the name that we have created is a business.

"So our family aren't allowed to post photos unless it's a photo we've already posted or a photo I've approved."

Because of her success on Instagram, the mother has started to run workshops for other parents, teaching them how to make their own family influencer accounts.

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