Washing, feeding, brushing, kissing and cuddling are just some of the things all of us mums do with their children every day. And an enchanting new set of black-and-white photos – uncovered 50 years after they were taken – show that the most important job in the world hasn’t really changed much in all that time.

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Mind you – as the picture above shows – no matter how good you get at bathing your kids, you may occasionally end up with a foot in your mouth!

The touching photos were recently found in an old box titled 'Mothers' that had been in storage. The amazing snaps were taken by 83-year-old photographer Ken Heyman 50 years ago for a Pulitzer-nominated book called Family, which he co-wrote with anthropologist Margaret Mead.

The mothers and children in the pictures were taken in over 60 countries around the world.

Click through the gallery to see the amazing historical images. They've made us feel a bit teary...

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Photos: Ken Heyman
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Brushing knots out

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Having a bath

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Pure joy

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Messy dinner time

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Plaits and cuddles

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Mothers and daughters

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The latest buggies

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Feeding

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Kisses

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A special bond

Read more:

* Baby boy’s adoption photos go viral

* 10 painted pregnancy bumps you can't stop staring at

* Brothers recreate mum's photo album

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