Touching story behind photo of mother holding child in bathroom 'storms' internet

An Australian photographer was surprised when she saw a photo taken by her 5-year-old son of her having skin-to-skin contact with her sick daughter in the bathroom.

A photo of a mother cuddling and comforting her little daughter in the bathroom has gone viral, attracting over 10,000 interactions in just 24 hours. What makes the photo special is that it was taken by a 5-year-old boy using a phone.

Kelli Bannister, a 30-year-old photographer and blogger living in Perth, posted the touching photo on her personal page on April 19. The photo currently has 36,000 likes and has been shared more than 3,000 times.

"After dealing with two boys with the flu for the past two weeks, I knew my youngest daughter, Summer, would catch it too. We had some rough days and nights, little sleep, and we were both exhausted," Bannister, 30, told Today Parents. "In the morning, she started coughing and had a fever, which freaked me out. I stripped both of us and sat her on the bathroom floor to help Summer (and me) cool down."

Bannister undressed both mother and child and sat the baby down on the bathroom floor. Photo: Kelli Bannister.

Summer snuggled up to her mother and calmed down after a few minutes. The Bannisters stayed in the bathroom for about 15 minutes before Taj, the photographer's oldest son, came in with his phone to say "Mommy has a message." Taj pressed the camera icon on his phone and took a few pictures of his mother and sister hugging. Then he put the phone in the tub and ran to watch a movie.

"It wasn't until I was putting Summer to bed that I remembered Taj had taken the photo. Looking at the photo Taj took, I was actually a little stunned by how real it was. I used Photoshop Express on my phone to edit it and realized something really special," Bannister said. "It wasn't just a moment of exhaustion, but also of unconditional love between mother and child."

Bannister wrote down exactly how she felt about that moment and posted it on social media. She had no idea the photo would go viral. Bannister debated whether or not to post it online, but then she thought, "This is real, this is me, a mother." "If this can motivate another mother to overcome the hardship of having a sick child, it's completely worth it," Bannister said.

In a post shared on Facebook using the account "The Barefoot Mum", Bannister confided that when her child is sick, it is "one of the most tiring times for a mother".

"Every cry or tear can break your heart. At times like these, you just wish it was you who was sick, not your child. I didn't sleep for days and was completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. But like all mothers, we kept going," Bannister wrote.

According to Bannister, Taj also has a passion for photography. In addition to the photo that became known online, Taj once took a photo of his mother and sister watching the sunset on the beach.

Bannister with her husband and children. Photo:Kelli Bannister.

According to Ngoisao.net