Posting pictures of poorly children on FB

I have a friend who regular posts pictures of her teen dd in hospital after an epileptic fit. I absolutely hate it. I've had to hide her posts. Just to be clear, in RL I've given her a lot of support. I think it's just wrong.

Sending love and sympathy
And yes, I don't think people realise how utterly isolating it is to be in hospital on your own with a child for a long time. Especially when you are scared for them.

It's frustrating how quick people are to judge.

People don't do it because they're looking for support.

They do it for attention and sympathy. It's not about the sick child, it's about them. Which is sick in itself tbh.

There are other ways to update family, text, WhatsApp, not on a social media platform for all to see.

He thankfully survived in the end but he very nearly didn’t. We’re still here in hospital 7 months later. He was very poorly but is much better than he was thankfully.

I wouldn’t post about the usual coughs and colds children get but when it’s serious and knowing that there’s so many people thinking about your child and praying for them. It helped me at the most scariest time of my life.

Thanks.

Ds was critically ill at 8 weeks old and then for the first 6 years of life spent a large proportion of his life in hospital.

when he was critically ill a nurse encouraged me to take photos. I didn’t understand why at the time but now years down the line they have helped me deal with what happened. Only one of the photos at his worst have ever been shared.

during that first admission we got his first photo smiling. He was still on oxygen via nasal specs, the photo is one of my favourites
of him and I did share it on social media. It was nice to be able to share photos with my friends who has been so fantastic through a horrendous time.

over the years of many hospital admissions I did post many other pictures because at that point for us being in hospital was as normal as being in a soft play was for his peers.

Its performative and attention seeking

Like people who post covid test results or pregnancy test results.

Same thing although the photo of a child is intrusive of another person who hasnt given consent which in my view is inappropriate.

This is so sad and is exactly why none of us should judge. I’m so sorry for your loss x

That's horrible. Poor kid. FB updates are one thing, but no need to include a pic of a suffering child.

I was a very sick child, before social media, and I hate it. It’s a huge invasion of privacy.

Support and to keep family up to date.

DS became critically poorly back in March. Sharing pictures and updating Facebook became a way to cope and to digest everything that was happening.

When someone has experienced feeling useless and alone in hospital as they feel their child slowly slipping away from them, they can gladly judge me on how I coped during that time.

Because some people like attention .. and they're weird.

I know, like I said before, it's not what I would do, but I have family and friends to turn to. A lady I used to work with, for example, always posts poorly baby/toddler photos: up all night, full of cold, even in the hospital once. But I know she's quite a lonely person with family far away and is fairly needy in general. I feel sorry for the whole situation, to be honest.

@comedycentral understand that, but I don’t think a photo is appropriate.

It's not something I would do, but people are increasingly living more isolated and unsupported lives, potentially far from support networks and family. They turn to social media for that support, sympathetic responses, advice, and attention. Yes, their children haven't asked to be online, but this is how many people connect with their communities now.