A Discussion About our Kids and their Right to Online Privacy

Earlier this year I posted Let’s talk about our kids and their right to privacy. I posed the question what should and shouldn’t we be posting about our kids on our blogs and social media. My kids are still too young to ask for their stamp of approval before pressing that publish button. I was curious how other parents approach the topic. It got some great feedback and a discussion going on some of my social media pages. I am following The Great Life of Wife‘s suggestion and  posting about the responses I got, most of which ended up being about the types of pictures we share.

Overall most people seemed to agree that:

• Pictures on the toilet should be kept private, no matter how excited and proud we are about potty training.
• After kids are no longer babies it is inappropriate to post pictures of them naked or only in their diaper or underwear. As innocent in nature as these pictures may be, once it is out there we cannot control who views them and what is done with them.
• Before posting pictures of kids that are not yours, ask their parents if it is okay.
• For safety reasons do not post when you are out of town or if your spouse/significant other is away. Also, if your kids are old enough, do not post when they are home alone.

Where there was some differences of opinion:

• Some people were fine with sharing naked newborn pics and others were not.
• Some people were fine with posting pictures of their kids when they were sick or in the hospital while some felt strongly this is not okay. Their point being, would we want pictures like that posted of us? Also, sometimes these types of pictures seem exploitative. There were some exceptions to this though, like posting a picture of a rash on closed moms group page.

Overall I am thinking a good rule of thumb maybe if you would not want it posted of you (on the toilet, throwing up, some problem that is personal even if it seems small), do not post it of your kid. Sure they maybe 3 and not know or care now, but maybe someday it would bother them knowing that’s out there or had been out there.

And if there is any doubt whether it is a good idea or not, maybe just go ahead and steer on the side of not posting to be safe. Why not? Surely our acquaintances from high school will be fine if they don’t see whatever that post was going to be. Or if we want to post it for family to see, maybe we should just privately message it them.

Do you agree or disagree with any of these? Have anything to add?