The Instagram sensation says she treats her youngest child no differently to her two older ‘typical’ children
Gina Daly is a chef who has built up an impressive cooking empire with her husband Karol via their Instagram page The Daly Dish.
The couple already had two children when Gina had a miscarriage during Covid – she was in her 40s at the time. The experience made her realise how short life is and that she had previously taken having babies for granted. Together, she and Karol decided to let nature take its course and that, ‘if it happens, it happens.’
“Before Gene, I never thought about having a child with Down syndrome,” she said. “After having my eldest children, Holly and Ben, we thought we were done. I think after having two typical pregnancies and typical children, I never thought it would be anything different. I just thought it would be another stereotypical pregnancy.
“Growing up in the 80s and 90s and growing up with older people, there was that stereotype about people with Down syndrome. It was ‘those kids’ and I would have heard ‘you’re stuck with them’ or even ‘they’re babies for life’. So growing up in that era, I didn’t know anyone with Down syndrome. But with the age of social media, I was following some girls who had children with Down syndrome, before I had Gene. Seeing their experiences made me realise it was completely different to what it was once made out to be.”
To her delight, she learned that there are so many more resources available now and she is passionate about breaking stereotypes and spreading the message that people with Down syndrome are capable of achieving everything they want in life.
“Gene is treated no differently to my older two children, Holly and Ben, and I don’t see why his future should be any different.”
In fact, Gene has become something of an Instagram star himself. His very own account The Baby Dish has almost 26K followers – not bad for a toddler who’s not even three yet! On it, Gina shares adorable photos and videos of her joyful boy as he experiences everything life has to offer, from music and food to taking his first steps.
“I think Gene has a bigger cult following than me!” Gina laughed. “More people want to see him than my food, and I love that his smile is just infectious, and it makes people happy. Seeing that helps create awareness and I’m so delighted to be part of that.”
But despite her efforts to show her son’s everyday life, there are still many who see his condition as something that sets him apart in a negative way.
“There can be a focus on what they can’t do,” Gina explained. “They can be grouped into one. I hear it now, people have conversations with me about Gene and they use ‘they’, it’s never about Gene. They’ll say general things like ‘aren’t they so happy’ or ‘they love music’ and like, his name is Gene, he’s sitting right there! There is stereotyping and grouping about what he can do, when everyone is individual. It’s very strange hearing that.”
As part of her mission to spread awareness, the busy mother is helping to relaunch Ice Cream Fundays to raise much-needed funds for Down Syndrome Ireland. The charity provides vital services and supports to people with Down syndrome and their families, across all age groups nationwide.
Taking place from 17-23 June, schools, families, neighbours and friends are invited to host a party in their school, their home, the park, or anywhere they like, to have fun, enjoy ice cream and donate to Down Syndrome Ireland.
Gene avails of a homeschool teacher provided by Down Syndrome Ireland’s Louth Meath branch, which Gina says is invaluable.
“It’s an absolutely fantastic service for us. Heather comes to the house once every two weeks and does an hour of home-school with Gene. It’s nice for us to have a little break, and it’s great for Gene to see a new face. Even just for that hour, the response he has to her is amazing. She does numbers and colours, and when she leaves, he’s repeating it to me, he’s pointing out the colours. It’s just such an invaluable service. He’s coming on leaps and bounds from it. He’s using his words, he’s encouraging language, she’s using Lámh signs and he’s copying her, it’s great. I’m learning from it too.”
Down Syndrome Ireland is asking supporters to get involved by hosting their own Funday parties. Register here or visit downsyndrome.ie.
