I get shamed for letting 6 kids sleep in 1 bedroom in my council house – trolls threaten to report me but I’m a good mum
A BUSY mum has hit back at trolls who shame her for having six children sleep in one bedroom of their two-bed council house.
Nicole Wong, from Leeds, claims she faces vile comments from trolls who have threatened to report her to social services over the sleeping situation.
The 31-year-old, who’s a part-time aesthetics practitioner, is mum to Nyala, 12, Nevaeh, 11, Neesha, eight, Nathaniel, seven, Neiko, four, and Nikita, two, who all sleep in the same room.
Choosing to share the family’s lives on TikTok, she believes trolls make assumptions about her because they don’t agree so many youngsters should be sleeping in one room.
“People comment on my TikTok videos telling me that I should learn to keep my legs closed because it’s not fair on my kids that they all have to share a bedroom,” she said.
“People have even said they’ve reported me to social services and think that I am neglecting my kids.
“I have been trying to get a bigger council house for my family for the past five years, but I’ve not made much progress.
“There are rarely houses that are big enough available for me to bid on, and the council doesn’t seem to be interested in helping me out, even though our home has been overcrowded for years.
“I’ve lived in this home for 12 years, and I first moved in when I just had one child.
“I then went on to have my second, third, and fourth children, and when I fell pregnant for the fifth time I decided it was time to put myself on the housing list because I knew I needed to start thinking about getting a bigger house.
“I have been on the list for five years, and even when a house does come up, I’m still number 50 in the queue.
“I think because all of my children are healthy, they aren’t putting us down as a priority. We’ve received no help at all.”
Nicole has two bunk beds, two single beds, and a double bed in her children’s room where they all sleep.
When she first started posting videos showing her day-to-day life, Nicole never expected the backlash she’d face from strangers about her housing situation.
She said: “I just decided to start making TikTok videos of my day-to-day life, and then the trolling came out of nowhere.
“The comments were awful and unnecessary. Everyone has something to say.
“They think that because I am a single mum of six kids, they can assume things about me, but all of my kids have the same dad.
“People say it isn’t the council’s responsibility or problem to rehouse me, and that I have got myself in this situation.
“The trolls imply that the living situation is unfair on the kids and that I have had so many children to try and get taxpayers’ money. They try and put me in a certain category.
“However, I do work and I am trying to better myself.
“I work part-time doing aesthetics and beauty treatments, and I am also paying for courses to become an accountant.
“I’ve never taken drugs and I never get drunk.
“When I first started getting trolled, I was so upset. These people who don’t know me are judging me.
“I am actually trying to sort it out too, but I have no idea how long it will take us to be able to get a bigger house, as there is only one big enough house becoming available every other week.”
Nicole says she hardly has enough room in the house to cook for her family, and they have to eat on the sofa and floor as there is not enough room for a dining room table.
She added: “All I find myself doing is cleaning up. There is no room for a table for us all to have dinner, so some of us eat on the sofa, and the younger ones sometimes eat on the floor.
“I’ve just about got enough room to cook in the kitchen.
“I also have to stagger bedtimes by half an hour intervals because they can’t all go up to bed at once.
“They’d end up chatting away for ages and not get to sleep.
“I wish people wouldn’t be so judgmental because I am trying my best, and I would love a bigger home for my family. It’s not always that easy.”