"Mother of the Year" Shares Parenting Secrets

Arkhangelsk resident Irina Milokhina is a mother of many children, an athlete, a beauty, and the winner of several beauty pageants. Recently she reached the all-Russian level: at the Miss and Mrs Great Rus. Russia pageant, Irina won the title «Mother of the Year Great Rus 2026.» The northern woman shared her impressions of the victory with 29.RU and told how she lost 22 kilograms during preparation, as well as sharing advice on raising independent and loving children.

«I Wanted to Catch Some Energy»

Many could envy Irina«s energy — she has enough for work, training, dancing, breeding cats, and, most importantly, raising three children. The Arkhangelsk woman has a daughter and two sons: the older ones are in school, and the youngest child is two and a half years old. The children»s father has recently lived separately — he and Irina separated, but he regularly visits and helps the family.

The Arkhangelsk woman began participating in beauty pageants in 2020. According to Irina, on the one hand, she was curious about why such events are needed at all, and on the other, she wanted to try something new and step out of her comfort zone.

«I wanted to catch some energy,» she says. «Yes, I dance, I love sports, but apparently something was missing. So I tried it. Probably such pageants are needed to show your charisma, to tell that a woman can not only sit at home, cook, raise children, clean, do laundry, but also show herself — stately, beautifully, elegantly. I thought, why can»t I participate? I went, tried, and got hooked.«

The divorce from her husband partly pushed her to participate — Irina admits that he did not believe in her and was against such events.

«He is against any activity, but I am active and energetic by nature. Sometimes I can be even too much. And he did not like that. But I am the kind of person who does not sit at home — I need communication, I need energy. But after the victory he praised me — he said: »You are smart. I did not believe, but you did it,«» Irina shared.

The very first experience of participating in beauty pageants was in 2020. Irina remembers it for its preparation — the participants studied choreography, step technique, defile, even talked with a psychologist, and also spent time together and got to know each other.

«In 2023 I met Elena Sergeevna, the director of the Miss and Mrs Golden Rus project, and she invited me to participate,» Irina continues. «It was she who largely helped me open up! I did not agree for a long time, I doubted — I had to spend 5–6 hours at classes, which meant a little less attention to the children. But it was very interesting! Here the jury did not just evaluate beauty — one had to show one»s skills, upbringing, ability to cook, knit, sew. This is much more interesting. I participated once, twice, and the third time was already at the all-Russian level.«

«I Was 72, Now — 50 kg»

Before the trip to the pageant in St. Petersburg, Irina had to seriously work on her figure: after her last childbirth she weighed 72 kilograms and wanted to lighten up a bit. In the end, in six months she lost 22 kg.

«With age it is harder to stay in shape,» she admits. «Naturally, before the pageant I had to get myself in order. And in half a year I lost weight: I was 72, now — 50 kilograms. And all this thanks to the project. I started taking care of myself, and I succeeded. And now I please the eye not only my own, but also my children»s.«

Irina did not go on any specific diet, but admits that she changed her diet and began exercising more. Her sister Anna«s support also helped — she joined the workouts and dance classes — it was more fun and interesting together.

«I reduced flour products and generally ate properly,» says Irina. «There were, of course, moments when I broke down at night, went to the fridge, and then went to sleep with a full belly. In the morning I woke up and thought: »I broke down, that«s bad…» Besides, I took on more loads and began going to the gym more often. But that is not enough, you also need the support of children and family! Honestly, for me this is an achievement. And from 72 to 50 — this is very cool for me. Especially in half a year.«

The updated figure is not the only thing the northern woman got from the project. Irina admits that at beauty pageants she learned calmness, discipline, and also how to behave properly on stage.

«Everyone says: »This is so cool! You are on stage, you are a star.« But you stand on stage, your legs are tired from heels. You think: »Well, where is my nomination?« And when they put on the crown — emotions overwhelmed me! I wanted to shout, cry, stomp my feet…»

After the award ceremony, instead of taking off her dress and resting, Irina grabbed her phone and started calling her relatives:

«The whole family was delighted. Mom is very proud of me, she says: »Irina, you are great! You did it! Do not stop at what you have achieved, keep going.« And the children now call me at home »Your Majesty.« It is very pleasant, though sometimes I, of course, get angry: how is that, at home I am mom. But they love to call me that.»

«I Love Communicating with People, and People — with Me»

Irina Milokhina was born into a large family: she has three sisters and eleven nieces and nephews, whom she adores babysitting and playing with, and her own family turned out to be large as well.

«I love children very much. Children are our happiness, our continuation. For me, family is something very important, it is wings, hope, love, it is my heart. Children give energy, as, by the way, do cats! Sometimes you come home tired, and they all lie at your feet, purr — it is simply beautiful! And the children jump around: »Mommy, you are tired, let us stroke you, kiss you.«»

Irina works as an administrator in a restaurant. She has been in this profession since she was 18, and she still likes it. Not least because of communicating with people.

«Why I went to work in a restaurant: I love live communication. These are people, new acquaintances, I learn something new, I see some celebrities. Or, on the contrary, I see a person who is developing, and then he becomes big and famous. The connection is maintained, we continue to communicate. And guests who come to our restaurant return again and again because they see the warmth that I can give. I love communicating with people very much, and people love communicating with me!»

Irina also draws life energy from her hobbies — for example, she loves sewing headwear: from hair ties to beautiful kokoshniks. Her other favorite activity is sports. And absolutely different ones: from horse riding, which she did in childhood, to gymnastics and Zumba — dance fitness based on Latin American rhythms.

«Zumba is, one could say, a party every day. And I also love going to the gym, lifting dumbbells. First you take your own weight, then add more, heavier ones. But then it is easy to take one child in one hand, the second in the other, and off you go. In fact, I have a lot of energy. And I am ready to give this energy and share it with others.»

«My Cats Can Shake a Paw»

Another recent hobby of Irina«s is breeding Bengal cats. It all started quite unexpectedly when she was given one such leopard-colored cat. The new owner of the animal became interested in this breed, began reading about them, and thought — why not try breeding them if her strength and apartment space allow?

Irina set up a home nursery according to all the rules — she has documents for it. Besides, she took accounting courses and thought about how to do marketing.

«I looked for a male for a very long time, so that it would be a good, beautiful stud,» she says. «Besides, one also needs to know marketing moves — how to properly present your group, advertise this or that cat. And also — to tell our residents that Bengals are not a wild animal. They are completely domestic, sweet, purring cats. And they are also trained. My cats can shake a paw and know the »sit« command. It is easy to train a dog, but try a cat.»

Irina refutes the claim that all Bengals are wayward beasts that you cannot approach. Males of this breed, according to her, are completely tame.

«I have a girl, Ayla — she has character, it is better not to pick her up yourself. She must come herself, then you can stroke her. But if the girls have character, the male cats are like little children — tender, affectionate. They sleep together with the baby and with me. The youngest son grabs the cat, walks around the house with it and kisses it. But one must raise Bengal cats properly. Not just take a cat: »I will feed it and that«s it.» No, one must also pet it, pick it up, and play with it.«

«Raising Three Children Is Not Hard, You Have to Work Together»

All of Irina«s children are completely different. Here is how she characterizes each of them:

«The daughter is quiet, calm, modest. She is my model, athlete — the camera loves her, and she loves the camera. If there are many people around, she gets shy, but when she is one-on-one with a photographer, she simply cannot be stopped — charisma just flows, just runs. My older son is energetic, loud, ringing. Very caring: »Mom, what needs to be done? Let me help you here.« And the youngest is very musical. He hears music — whether on a bus or on the street — he gets up and starts dancing.»

The older children, according to their mother, became independent already in the fifth grade. Before that, Irina made sure their homework was done, checked their assignments, but now the daughter and son do everything themselves. They can make breakfast for themselves and even feed others. Each has their own household duties. And before September 1 they no longer need to be gathered for school — they manage themselves.

We asked the mother of many children if she has some secret on how to raise independent children?

«Probably the secret is that children need to be listened to and understood attentively,» she answers. «And not to scold, but to try to talk to them calmly. The most important thing is calmness, love and kindness. You need to show children love, your example, and not do anything for them. Yes, while they are small, of course, you need to help them, but then they grow up. They can, of course, come and ask: »Mom, how do I do this?« Naturally, you must definitely tell and show.»

According to Irina, children need to gradually be given responsibilities and taught household chores. The northern woman gives an example: her older children, when they went to first grade, could already wash their socks and heat up food to eat.

«In fact, raising three children is not hard. You have to work together. You need to understand children. A child comes home from school tired, something happened to him. You need to come up and carefully ask: »Is everything okay? How was your day? What is new with you? What grades did you get?« Be sure to listen to what he says and try to calm him down, give advice. Or, on the contrary, if everything is great, then rejoice with him.»

Of course, joint family joys are also not without. Irina admits that she loves walking with her children and even jumping in puddles with them.

«We love walking in the rain very much. Jumping in puddles is such a thrill! I jump in puddles myself together with the children. All passersby walk, look: »The children jumping is one thing, but her?« But sometimes you want to be a child. The inner child must definitely be there, one must definitely be capricious sometimes.»

«I Began to Value Myself»

Over the past year, much has changed in Irina«s life, and, as she says herself, not least her participation in beauty pageants influenced this.

«I began to value myself,» she shared with 29.RU. «It became pleasant to see myself in the mirror. I began to understand that I am capable of much. Working at one job, I realized that I could do something else too. I began to develop my nursery. I won Miss and Mrs Great Rus. Pomorye and became »Mother of the Year« at the all-Russian beauty pageant. And this is such a thrill, such goosebumps — so many events in one year! And the coolest thing is that your family is proud of you.»

I want to say the most important words of gratitude to Elena Basunova, as the organizer of the pageant in Arkhangelsk. She sees the true beauty of the Pomor northern soul and reveals it in each of us. Thank you to her for her hospitality, spiritual warmth and incredible atmosphere. Without her inner spark, our Pomor beauty would not exist! For me, our project has become a place of true transformation, and our Elena Sergeevna is the brightest, most energetic person and its main engine! Next to her I feel that I am becoming younger. So much strength appears that you want not just to move forward, but to flutter and swim without stopping.

I am infinitely grateful to Elena for her incredible personal support, for her faith in me since 2023 and for the amazing emotions that I am experiencing now as a participant. She gave a wonderful opportunity to be in the center of attention — and not only to me, but also to many other girls of Pomorye. Elena is a real sorceress! She does not just organize events, but changes our destinies, gives her light and instills confidence when it is most needed.

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