Jessa Duggar Seewald was “mom shamed” for having a messy house and showing it off on social media. The 24-year-old mother of two posted a gallery of photos so fans could see her house “in all its shining glory.”
On Oct. 19, Seewald posted a gallery showing the messy side of being a mother to two young children. She and her husband Ben Seewald are parents to one-year-old Spurgeon Elliot and eight-month-old Henry Wilberforce.
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“This is real life, y’all,” she said, adding captions for all 10 photos.
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“My reminder today has been that the same is true of the needs of the little people in our lives. I might think ‘I don’t have time right now.’ But it only takes a few min… here and there. A few mins here, spent cuddling a fussy baby. A few mins there, singing lullabies as a toddler drifts off to sleep. 5 mins here, to read a book. 10 min there, engaging in imaginative play. Not trying to pit a clean house against interaction with kids– sometimes both are possible, though often they do seem in opposition to one another,” Seewald wrote.
She continued, “Just remember, whatever projects are pulling at your time and attention today, don’t forget to make time for the people around you. These are the memories that will last forever.”
Many of her followers were disgusted by the photos, although some said they understood exactly what she was talking about.
“Clutter? Normal…dirty dishes? That’s fine…over 6 months of no dusting and dirty diaper pile? Excuse me while I go vomit,” one Instagram user commented. “I’m by no means a perfect mother, but I expect a clean household that my family can enjoy. It can be accomplished all while enjoying the babies. Changing bedsheets takes like 10 minutes tops, and those diapers can be thrown out in less time it took to change the diaper itself. This is so gross.”
On Oct. 21, the Counting On cast member tried to further explain her decision to share the photos. She said she came up with the idea while she was writing up her housekeeping to-do list and thought how most people share photos of a clean house on Instagram. She wanted to show the “reality” of her life.
As for the photo of a pile of used diapers, she wrote, “Our diaper pail is currently outta commission, and I’m awaiting a replacement. Yeah, they were stinky, but I had them bagged up and out of the house before the pic of them was even posted.”
“My takeaway, and what I was trying to convey, was this: I could break down household tasks into manageable increments, with a few min here doing this, and a few min there doing that,” Seewald continued.
“And when it comes to quality time with kids, it’s really the same thing. It’s a few min here and a few min there. The point was not kids vs. house cleaning. The point was my heart’s goal to devote undivided time and attention to my kids– to make memories together each day, no matter what else I have on my schedule.”
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This isn’t the first time Seewald has experienced mommy shamers. Last month, she shared a video of Spurgeon playing with tissues, which inspired random Instagram users to criticize her parenting skills.