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.

Bernie O'Driscoll Bernie O'Driscoll

This week, Bernie O’Driscoll (@mysocalledcoeliaclife) chatted us through a photo of her making brunch with her son Darragh.

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

Sunday mornings are for pancakes in our house. My husband Keith took this picture of myself and our two-year-old son Darragh making the batter for them. I have always liked to bake and cook. While living in Australia I was diagnosed with coeliac disease, and this really re-awakened my interest in baking.

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

Myself and my siblings get our love of photos from our parents. After returning from Australia and moving into our forever home, I set about gathering pictures from my childhood for the house. There are so many great pictures that bring back so many memories. It’s true that a picture can speak a thousand words, but a picture of a mum and a toddler speaks thousands more!

For example, there was tantrum two seconds after this picture was taken when I was wrestling the mixer out of Darragh’s hand. There was pancake batter flying across the kitchen and my husband dropped his phone to come to my rescue. All of this was followed by laughter and sitting down as a family to chat and enjoy pancakes.

Keith made the kitchen helper that Darragh was standing on, which is great for keeping him safe while baking and cooking while giving him a sense of independence.

Did it take many attempts to get the right shot?

Keith was just snapping away, so it was a very much an in-the-moment shot. 

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.

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