TikTok Family Called Out For Living in a Small One Bedroom Apartment With 4 Kids — And One on the Way
Some TikTokers are expressing their disappointment in one family who not only lives in a small one bedroom apartment with four kids — but is expecting their fifth baby.
TikToker Stephanie Jenkins posted a time-lapse video of her family's nightly routine, which includes tidying up the living room, cleaning the kitchen after dinner, and transforming it into a bedroom for their four children. Per the controversial clip shared on Friday, October 25, the kids sleep on air mattresses and foam toppers.
@jenkinsresiliencecrew You do what you Gotta do in small space living, especially when you have a larger family. #smallspaceliving #blendedfamily #familyof6 #familyof7 #nojudgement #pushing #manifesting #bedroommakeover #cleanup
♬ original sound - Resilient Jenkins 🔹🔷🔹
The parents, Stephanie and her partner Drew, stay in the one bedroom of the apartment. Stephanie is also pregnant with her fifth baby.
In the TikTok, Stephanie said: "To an outsider our environment appears cluttered, disorganized, what have you. But frankly, after making due for three years now, I have nothing but a grateful spirit for the roof over our heads."
"You do what you Gotta do in small space living, especially when you have a larger family," she penned in the post's caption, with hashtags #smallspaceliving and #blendedfamily.
@jenkinsresiliencecrew Sunday evening Vlog. Sundays are such a bittersweet vibe because it’s still a calming relaxing weekend day, but you know the immediate rush of the week is about to hit 😂 #sundayvlog#eveningvlog#familyof6#smallspaceliving#blendedfamily#familytime#relateable#keepgoing#grateful
♬ original sound - Resilient Jenkins 🔹🔷🔹
The text over the time-lapse read: "When you have a 1bedroom with 6 people a "bedroom" becomes more essential than dining room." The video quickly went viral; garnering over 250K likes, over 27K comments, and over 56K shares.
The comment section was filled with opinions from viewers, including one that sarcastically wrote: "our kids come first" *none of them have their own space*." Another penned: "It's not judgment. It's planning and being realistic about your situation," while a third viewer said: "The way they will never forget this choice you keep making."
@jenkinsresiliencecrew Night vlog. Tonight we took some time to work on manifestation. We started our wish box and all discussed something within ourselves we want to grow and work on. We worked on reading and writing skills as well as character building. And we had a blst doing so. #nightvlog #smallspaceliving #blendedfamily #familyof6 #grateful #resilient #keepgoing
♬ original sound - Resilient Jenkins 🔹🔷🔹
A fourth TikToker described the Jenkins' home as "literally the kind of houses they rescue kids from in SVU 😭," while another quipped: "Having your 1 year old toddler sleep next to a front door is such a BRIGHT idea."
The bio to the family's TikTok says they are a "Multi-cultural family of 6 going on 7." Their page, which boasts of Stephanie cooking meals, preparing her kid's school lunches, and "humbling conversations with her 7 year old," includes over 69K followers.
