Mum called a ‘psycho’ for turning her one-year-old son into Britain’s youngest social media ‘influencer’ – and he’s made THOUSANDS
Little Ralphie Warlington, from Brentwood, Essex, has raked in freebies worth more than £10,000 thanks to his mum sharing immaculate snaps with his 19,300 Instagram followers.
But Stacey Woodhams, 28, who started the account when Ralphie was a WEEK old, has received a torrent of abuse from trolls – while friends and family aren't allowed to upload unapproved shots of the tot, in case they dilute his brand.
"We don’t ban our friends and family from posting photos of Ralphie, we just ask them to get our approval first," Ralphie’s dad Adam Waplington, an area manager for a wholesale food company, told Mail Online.
"A messy, snotty-nosed kid will not sell the product. We can't win. If he looked scruffy we'd be criticised for that too."
The angelic lad has totted up a haul of 200 outfits, eight pushchairs, a cot, bed, high chairs, toys and a lot of bags – as well as a king-size bed for Mum and Dad and overspill freebies which are stored at his grandparents' house.
There's also free trips to theme parks, meals out, salon treatments – as well as payments of up to £375 for sponsored posts, which go straight in a savings account for the toddler.
Stacey said: "I’ve been called a 'fruitcake' and a 'psycho'. I’ve also been told I’m an 'unloving mum', that my son will grow up not to trust me, and that I don’t deserve to be on this planet.
"Someone else said I was psychologically abusing my child and infringing his human rights. Another threatened to phone social services. We've stopped reading the comments now."
Despite cashing in on her son's cuteness, Stacey insists Ralphie doesn't even know he's being photographed and says he has the "best life possible", despite considering social media a second "job".
She said: "I certainly never get him to pose and I couldn’t make him sit or smile on demand even if I wanted to. I just let him play in his natural environment.
Childhood sweethearts Stacey and Adam met through mutual friends 11 years ago and got engaged last Christmas.
Their son was born via C-section in December 2016 and Ralphie had more than 1,000 followers within a month.
His mum insists she didn't set out to make him an influencer and started the account so friends and family could track his progress – although she now runs workshops about boosting your social media presence.
Stacey, who often stays up until 2am to upload photos when frazzled mums are scrolling, also runs a small business form home, selling personalised baubles, cards and T-shirts.
She says she hopes Ralphie will be "proud" of what they've done when he becomes old enough to understand and insists they'll stop if he ever says he doesn't want to do it anymore.
Stacey and Adam aren't the only parents cashing in on their kids. This dad-of-three also proudly makes ££ on social media with his Daddy To Triplets account.
While Kim Kardashian is happy for her five-year-old daughter North to wear makeup apart from ‘dark lipstick’ and ‘fake lashes’.
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