Coronavirus: Ilkeston mother thanked for sharing lockdown struggles

Kelly Jennison said mums and dads should remember that "in their eyes you are still the best parents"

An "exhausted" mother-of-two has been praised for sharing her lockdown struggles to remind other parents "it's OK not to be OK".

Kelly Jennison's post on Facebook described how she had been brought to tears by "tantrums, stomping and squabbling".

The 31-year-old said she wanted to show a side of lockdown she felt was not reflected on social media.

She said her inbox became filled with parents thanking her for her "honesty".

Mrs Jennison, of Ilkeston in Derbyshire, wrote: "Yesterday morning I had just had enough... The constant requests, tantrums, stomping, shouting, squabbling, it had just got enough and I sat and cried for a good 20 minutes.

"I would have done anything to escape and just be on my own."

Mrs Jennison said despite the difficulties they had still made "great memories" together

Mrs Jennison has been furloughed but her husband Ben is a key worker.

This has meant during the day she has often been the sole adult in the house, trying to occupy two-year-old Eli while also teaching her step-son Toby, eight.

"I'm not afraid to admit it's driving me insane," she told the BBC. "Yes there are good days and I love spending time with them.

"For example, we've been able to build a pirate ship in the garden, which we've been meaning to do since we came here. It's nice to make memories like that.

"I'm thankful I'm on furlough and able to keep them at home and safe.

"[But] no-one can say every day of lockdown has been amazing, they'd be lying."

Mrs Jennison shared this picture to highlight her point about social media only showing the positives

Mrs Jennison joined the Facebook group Family Lockdown Tips and Ideas and said she was grateful for the suggestions of things to do but felt the posts did not show the full reality.

"The posts are 'I've made this rainbow' or 'we've done this art'. They look so happy," she said.

"No-one was saying 'I'm struggling'."

After a particularly difficult day, she decided to change that.

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After she posted, she said her inbox "went crazy" with grateful parents thanking her for speaking out.

"It made me feel like I was normal," she said.

"It's not a competition - you do what you can for your family and if they come out OK, you have done your job."

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