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.

Fancy taking part? Email amy@thejournal.ie with a few lines about yourself and your kids for a chance to feature.

Derek Power Derek Power

This week, Derek Power (@parentingpobal) filled us in on what’s happening behind the scenes in a photo of him and his 18-month-old son Thomas.

Tell us a bit about this photo. What inspired you to take it? 

Generally I make it home from work in time for dinner most nights and get to spend some time with the kids before bed. This photo was taken after I had a week of late nights in work and missed all the kid-time. I came home on Thursday feeling in pretty crap form way past bedtime, only to discover that our youngest wasn’t asleep. My wife took this picture right after I had picked him up in the kitchen and he gave me a big hug. It made the stress go away instantly.

What’s one thing that’s going on in this photo that you wouldn’t know from looking at it?

My son is in the middle of a teething session. Usually when we put him down he sleeps for the night, but during the week in question he had been having a lot of broken sleep. As I got the train home, my Whatsapp was filled with pictures of him crying and looking very sad for himself.

Did it take many attempts to get the right shot? 

It was a series of three shots that my wife just happened to take as I gave him a cuddle. This is the last one in the set as he started laughing for no real reason.

What do you love about this photo? 

I love the cheeky shape to his smile. His personality is really coming through in the last few months and he is all about jokes and laughter – outside of eating and crying. Having him hug me like that and laugh at me after a hard few days makes me think that I might be doing an alright job at this dad lark.

Was there any editing done to the photo before it was posted?

No editing was done at all, it is straight from the phone. My wife has a good eye for taking pictures and I guess it all just worked well in the moment. Plus you can’t see the banana stains on the front of his top, being nicely pressed into my shirt.

How well does this photo reflect your family life in general?

Ignoring the fact he should have been sound asleep in bed, this is typical of what goes on in our house most nights. The two kids spend time laughing and screaming with fun and eventually we get to the ‘race for bed’ which is like watching a pair of drunken hobbits climb the stairs. Thankfully my lateness getting home is not a common reflection of our family life in general, but it does happy to the pair of us from time to time.

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.