EACH WEEK, A different Irish parent chats us through a family photo from Instagram and explains what was really going on outside the frame – from tantrums to toilet disasters.
This week, Deirdre Holland Hannon (@deehollhan) filled us in on what’s happening behind the scenes in a smiley family portrait from September 2018.
Name: Deirdre Holland Hannon
Occupation: Behaviour Specialist
Number of kids: 2
Ages: Ned, three and a half years; Billy, one and a half years
Where: Limerick
Here’s Deirdre’s chosen photo…
This is a photo of my boys and I. We are all dressed up ready to go to my cousin Aoife’s for her baby’s christening day. What inspired us? I was washed, dressed and had a full face of makeup! With a then three-year-old and a 10-month-old baby I felt it was essential to document that!
You might not know I had spent the morning sweating trying to organise us all to leave the house. Juggling getting myself ready, timing feeds and accommodating naps, making snacks, prepping weaning and then doing the car journey (which my youngest cried for most of).
No, this is the first attempt. With babies and toddlers you just have the first click or nothing. They don’t stand still for anyone! My boys don’t mind the camera at all so there’s never any protesting if I ask for a picture, but they are toddlers so I’m snappy about snapping.
I love this photo because once we got there we had such a great day with family and the boys had a ball with their second cousins. They both fell asleep at bedtime in the car on the way home and transferred straight in to bed with no hassle, which is the ultimate win for a parent.
No, I picked a clean spot to take it in and I always try to pick a really bright spot in the house too.
I don’t think it reflects family life in general at all. It reflects a moment in time, like any photo. No family life is all happy faces, clean ironed clothes and washed hair and faces. There are of course moments of perfection in every family life. I like to document them as much as possible. Those are the moments that can help you through the tougher days.
Do you have a family photo from Instagram with a great behind-the-scenes story? The day at the beach when the little one ingested a mouthful of sand – or the smiley photo taken just minutes after a tantrum? If so, we want to hear from you! Email amy@thejournal.ie with a few lines about yourself and your kids for a chance to feature in What You Don’t See Here.
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