Last week, a mom blogger in the US went viral for all the wrong reasons. She had posted on Instagram, lamenting that one of her kids seemed to not get as many likes as her other kids on Instagram, that Instagram didn’t like him. While it certainly opened up a discussion about mom bloggers and how they measure their worth online, it also prompted discussion about sharing our kid’s pictures online. How much is too much and where do you draw the line?
My experience is different than most, I know. My online presence is my business right now, it’s the gas for the Feisty Frugal and Fabulous vehicle. Still, I’ve had to make some decisions about who and what I share online. My husband’s job makes his online presence pretty minimal; you’ll see him mentioned more than shown on the blog and my social media. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that my fourteen year-old-son now rarely makes an appearance in my posts and stories. It isn’t because I don’t want him there – it’s because he doesn’t want to be there. And that’s OK. He’s perfectly able to make that decision for himself, whereas his sisters love being on my social media (and frankly, want more than I’m willing to give them, in the form of YouTube videos I just don’t have the time to create).
I talked about this and more this week on John Gormley Live. I’d love for you to listen in and share your thoughts on this topic after!
I agree with some points in this article! I think there is a thing as too much social media when it comes to our kids. I also think one should talk to their kids and ask them about it. Posting pictures of your kids everyday is maybe a bit too much… Gotta draw the line somewhere!
I think we have a problem when we seek validation and self worth. When we are sharing to allow a long-distance friend or grandparent see what we’re up to, that’s entirely different.
I believe we should not share too much of our children on social media.
its actually something i do a little too much in my opinion. Just on my instagram but my profile is public which anyone and everyone can see! i dont share anything crazy but you never know the weirdos that are out there that may look . never a bad thing not sharing their picture on social
I think one needs to use moderation as in everything else. Some sharing is fine but one shouldn’t overdo.
I myself do post pictures of my grandchildren because I am so proud of them, but then on the other side I get nervous about posting there pictures, there is a lot of creeps out there and it is scary just knowing they can take your pictures
I post pictures here and there of my kids so that family and friends can see what we are up to – we live 1000’s of kms away from everyone. I usually keep my family pics limited to those on my friends lists, but I do enter them in contests when they want to participate. My 6-year old just had her picture published in Chickadee magazine with a contest entry (she didn’t win, but seeing herself in the magazine was a win in itself!). I don’t measure my kids worth by the number of likes they get.
My hubby and I have careers where we need to limit the exposure of our family life. I do talk about our kids in a fairly general way but, when it comes to posting photos, I just don’t do it and I ask family and friends to respect this. The thought of people trolling my family without my knowledge is frightening to me.
I share pictures here and there, not a lot though, I think that there’s a line.
I think there’s too much information that goes out on social media
I have always been very selective about what i share on my social media. Once its posted its there forever. I also don’t vent or complain about my husband or family. Things like this should all be private
I share one or two pictures a year on social media of my family.
I think that there should be limited sharing of children’s photos on social media. I rarely post pictures of my grandchildren and when I do they are shared with friends only. I am a little nervous about who would be looking at their pictures.
I thought it was sad that the blogger commented on her young son not getting as much likes as her other children. As for posting photos of our children, well I was guilty of posting lots of pictures when social media first started up but over the years I’ve posted less and less because of predators. I think we have to be very mindful of which pictures we share on social media because you just don’t know where they will end up.
When my kids were younger I only shared posts with friends, as they grew some posts made it to public, but I try to still share with family and friends only. Now they kids are grown and none want to be posted so unless it is family pictures or something special they don’t get put online
I think its kind of complicated, i would love to share more but i keep it in check because there are weirdos out there.
I try to be careful about what I put out about my kids in social media.
I believe that we have to be careful with sharing to much information and picture on social media.
Although I can understand some of these points raised. I think some people just want to share their memories with relatives who live across the country (or in another country for that matter). That being said, I have everything really private on all my social media profiles and I mainly have family and only really close friends on my list. Especially on platforms that have pictures of my kids on them.
I think as long as your kids are ok with it (and are at an age they can make that decision and speak for themselves) then there is nothing wrong with it. It’s not about who get’s more “likes” than another. There is definitely a point where a person can share a little too much, but a post from time to time with the kids involved I think is fine.
Personally I dont think its safe to post young kids photos online..just me, and when the kids were in elementary they had to hand out forms if you wanted your kids pics on social media
It’s a fine line we tread in this digital world at times! My main decisions have been around when my kids got their own accounts and how to support and monitor them to ensure their safety.
I feel that some people share too much and don’t take their children’s feelings into account. It is like anything in life in that there can be too much information and maybe a child does not want some things about them shared. The internet posting is forever and what they did as a child may cause them grief as a teen. I find most bloggers are great to not overshare details their children would not want shared.
I believe that we need to keep some parts of our life private….maybe that is just me as I am a very private person, but its not a bad thing really.
I agree with your points–it’s so important for kids to be involved in their presence on social media!
Sharing kids photos online can be done responsibly as long as privacy settings are in place. I also think there is a need to share the
Everyone has different thoughts on this issue; the important piece is respecting family members’ wishes, as you are doing 🙂
There is definitely a boundary for my kids pictures and social media. I also respect that that boundary is different for every family.