Mum transforms home after trolls blast her for having six kids share a bedroom
A mum-of-six has transformed her two-bedroom council house after receiving fierce backlash and accusations of "neglect" from online trolls.
Nicole Wong, from Leeds, began sharing a glimpse inside her life with six young children on TikTok in a bid to give others a realistic insight on what parenting is like for a busy, single, mum with a large amount of children.
But she was shocked when she received abuse and even racist comments over her children's sleeping arrangements - with all six of her children sleeping in the same bedroom.
Nicole, 31, is mum to Nyala, 12, Nevaeh, 11, Neesha, eight, Nathaniel, seven, Neiko, four, and Nikita, two, who were all sleeping in the same room in Nicole's two-bedroom council house.
She managed this with two bunk beds, two single beds, and a double bed. However, after being slammed as "neglectful" by trolls on TikTok, Nicole has since changed the sleeping arrangements and now has three children in each bedroom and has moved her own bed downstairs, reports Leeds Live.
Striking teacher forced to take a second job to pay bills ahead of mass walkout
A number of beds in one room previously shared by her children (LeedsLive/MEN)
The children's bunk beds (LeedsLive/MEN)The part-time aesthetics practitioner said she felt pressured into making a change after being branded a "bad mum". She said people make presumptions about her and while she admits her living arrangements are not ideal, she has been on the council waiting list for a bigger home for five years and is currently "making the best out of a bad situation."
Nicole said: "The comments have been awful, it's all been very overwhelming, I've had people telling me contraception is free and maybe I should try keeping my legs shut. I've also had racist comments about my children and just basically accusing me of being an unfit mum.
"There was about 5,000 comments on there and none of them were nice, I got to the point where I just stopped reading them. I just wasn't expecting it, I've had fake profiles made of me and all sorts.
"The whole point of the videos was to show the mess they make and how I clean it up, I was inspired by other Instagram mums who show their day to day jobs and lives and that's all I was trying to do, show a realistic day in the life of a single mum."
Nicole went on to explain the changes she has made based on the fierce backlash she received, she continued: "Loads of people were saying put three kids in one room and the other three in the second room and you sleep downstairs, so that's what I've done.
Nicole has now moved her bed downstairs to give the children more room (LeedsLive/MEN)
Nicole shared images of her children's sleeping situation sharing a bunk bed, two singles and a double (Caters News Agency)"It's easy to say don't let it bother you but it does, I'm a good mum, I'm the one here looking after them every day, making their food, washing their clothes, taking care of them, they've got 100% attendance at school. If you phoned their school they would tell you, they're absolutely fine. My kids are happy, they love all being together.
"But I thought I'll take the negative comments on board and I'll try the suggestion. So I've decorated one of the rooms for the boys, so that's now a Spiderman room and I'm in the middle of decorating the second bedroom for the girls and I've moved myself to downstairs - I'm not bothered about having my own bedroom."
Asked whether she has felt pressured into doing so, Nicole added: "I must admit I have a bit, everyone in the comments were saying 'oh you've got the biggest room and the kids are all cramped in' and I didn't at all, I had the smallest room and most of the time the baby was in with me and the five older kids were in the biggest bedroom.
Nicole's six children Nyala, 12, Nevaeh, 11, Neesha, eight, Nathaniel, seven, Neiko, four, and Nikita, two (LeedsLive/MEN) "But they were happy enough, I don't think they're bothered about how they're living and sleeping because they all had their own comfortable sleeping space in bed.
"But yeah I have kind of felt forced into doing it but maybe it's just given me a kick up the backside. I'm generally very headstrong but all the negative comments were really overwhelming.
"I've been posting videos on TikTok of the transformation step by step and so far the comments have been much more positive and prasing me for making a change so that's been good."
Woman celibate for 11 years gives birth to baby after buying £25 DIY sperm kit
Asked about her plans for the future Nicole said: "I'm constantly bidding on the council list, I don't plan on being here forever. Obviously it would be amazing to have a bigger house and so more space but I can't do anymore than I'm doing, I can only work with what I've got and as long as my children are happy then so am I."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
