A fashion-designer mum from the UK has recently come under fire for sharing cute, fashionable photos of her daughter on Instagram.
The baby, Freya, has over 10,000 followers on the Instagram account @forget_me_not_freyfrey, where she models the baby clothes that her mum makes as well as some outfits gifted to her from other companies.
The young poser is styled by her mum, Kirsty Whelan, 26, who has been capturing images of Freya in bright and fashion-forward clothing since she was ten-weeks-old.
Baby Freya has become a brand representative for Instagram baby clothes companies such as The Bow Boutique and Bowties & Candyfloss, receiving free baby clothes in exchange for a photo of her wearing the outfit on Instagram.
“We do a daily update of what she is wearing,” said mum, Kirsty.
After an article about the popular account was published by The Daily Mail, parents have become polarised over whether the Instagram account is a good idea, with many criticising Kirsty for sharing images of her daughter so publicly.
Negative commenters have swarmed the Instagram account. Some are calling Kirsty a “momager” and others are saying that Freya “deserves a normal childhood” free from constant photos.
While others have bigger concerns for baby Freya, pointing-out how easily people can steal the images from the public account and use them for perverted purposes.
After U.S. parenting site Hot Moms Club shared an article about baby Freya with their Facebook followers, mums came out in force to snark at Kirsty’s approach to Instagram.
Kirsty was quick to respond to this negativity on Facebook and Instagram, stating on the Hot Moms Club Facebook page that she started the Instagram because she was simply making clothes for her baby.
She justified the Instagram account as a form of modern advertising. “Social media is today’s ‘catalogue’,” she said, explaining that she posts photos of Freya in her clothing as a way to advertise her design business.
She was also quick to reassure her critics that her baby has a very normal life doing lots of ‘baby things’ from swimming lessons to sensory play.
In defense of the criticism she’s received, Kirsty also told The Daily Mail that her daughter has a very normal life as a baby.
“We only take photos for 10 minutes tops – then it’s back to being a baby,” she said, adding that she ensures Freya gets lots of TLV, “she is extremely nurtured and loved beyond words” and has a normal and healthy lifestyle.
We certainly can’t see that the photos are any different to the thousands of other Instagram accounts we love to follow.
But take a look yourself at @forget_me_not_freyfrey and let us know, do you think that these photos are fit for sharing online?
