Do you post pictures of your children on social media?

[spice3]

This is a debate I keep seeing cropping up as a side topic on MN threads and it's made me curious.

Do you or don't you and why?
I do (not overly but occasionally) and I was quite shocked by how many people are so completely against it.

Also DH is high up in IT and will post pictures anywhere! I’m the one usually saying keep that account private, adjust the settings etc!

Yes but only real life family and friends can see them. I don't use their full names and don't share their surnames so calculate that the risk for their futures is minimal.

Yes I do. Not frequently but generally photos of days out or holidays.

As DC get older I ask them whether they are happy to have photos on FB and respect their wishes. However we do the 'Daily Mail Test' - if one of the DC became Prime Minister would I be happy for someone to put one of these photos on the front page.

Reading through I do agree there are etiquettes:

• in general no teenagers or ask their permission
• no public or open social media
• no videos of embarrassing or upset or loads of things! Blowing out birthday candles maybe
• nothing about that childs life that you would tell to a pub full - e.g. their problems, lives etc
• no school uniforms
• no baths or swimming
• never putting them down or sarcasm
• not overdoing it!

I do. Settings are strict though and I delete them off my page after a day or two. I've built up a lovely portfolio of pictures of her and like to share.

No. Never have done, apart from in private albums only accessible to family members. I feel like I'm in a minority though, as most of my friends over share.

No, we don’t.
I wouldn’t have appreciated my mum sharing pictures of me online when I was a child (if social media existed then). So I’m sure my dc won’t appreciate it either.

No. DD and DS are adopted and the risk is too great. The birth family are potentially dangerous and fairly close by. I live in fear of a parent putting a class picture or video on sm (they are asked not to).

No because I've had clients search for my private account and i dont want my children being seen by them

Only distance shots or where DC's face is partially obscured. I am not keen on certain celebs posting pics of their children asleep, this feels like such an invasion of privacy to me.

Very occasionally, and only things which are unlikely to ever embarrass them. Only friends can see.

Yes I do. Nothing they will embarrassed by when they’re older, definitely no bath time pics or anything crude. I’ve seen people posting tantrum videos/photos before which is utterly vile.

No because I've had clients search for my private account and i dont want my children being seen by them. sure understand however whenever I post Pictures I make it for only a certain group of my friends. It’s easy to do. Also my profiles are never public.

No, because nobody else cares what my children look like it’s harsh but true!

Yes, but not often, maybe every few months or so. Only particularly nice photos, absolutely nothing embarrassing, with high privacy settings. If DD ever had an issue with them in future I will happily remove them.

I don't really on my Facebook but I do a lot on my public Instagram account and blog. Photography and blogging is my hobby and I really enjoy the sense of parenting community I have found on there. I honestly can't imagine how this could negatively impact my DC as adults. I will probably archive them by the time they are teens.

Never. It's a consent thing as those photos will be out there for the rest of their lives, it's not up to me to decide what is posted on them. They can post what they choose later but while they are children I'm not creating any internet presence of them on their behalf.

I get really shirty when other adults post them and insist they are taken down. Can't understand why so many parents don't respect their children's privacy in the same way.

No. No photos of my kid, me, or anyone else. No Facebook, no instagram, nothing.

When your child is older, social media will be like breathing. Natural. It’s only because a lot of posters never grew up with it, they think it’s wrong. Yes, it’s problematic but it’s a huge fact of life and it’s not going away. Mumsnet is social media. It is. You are all on it though. What make this site better than others? Is it more worthy because it’s adult women? No. There’s still bitching and badness. We just have to teach children to use it properly and hope they do because in the end, we don’t really know what their personalities will be like. Bad people will post bad things.

So that photo that you posted of your child licking a lolly when they were 5 isn’t going to matter. It really isn’t.

I post about my kids but I value they’re privacy
I don’t go “my kids this” and “my kids that” 20%i post about my kids 30% about my animals and the rets about my acting life I find it weird when social media pages are smothered with kids

No, it's a recent decision as DS is only a few weeks old, and I'm not sure there's just one clear reason.

I grew up with SM becoming a thing during my early teen years so it's not that I'm not used to it or don't know how it can work if you set it to private etc...except I guess with so many people/companies being hacked you can't really trust those settings if someone really wants access (unlikely, but possible).

I think the main things that put me off were a) nobody really cares other than close family b) I refuse to become one of those mums who posts the most stereotypical mum shit on fb etc, public statuses asking school holiday dates or phone numbers for x&y as well as constant DC updates about achievements and days out...

We created a family WhatsApp group and its actually been great to get us all properly talking and sharing with purpose again, about things other than DC, rather than just getting the odd 'like'

Occasionally and nothing that I would find embarrassing if the photo were of me. Ds will never be able to make a decision about it himself and it is only a minor decision compared to others I will make.

Never.

I'm a private person and grew up before social media was a thing, so it's partly because of that (I have never posted photos of myself either). It's also because I'm not interested in other people's children and don't expect them to be interested in mine.

But it's mainly the issue of consent. I don't like the idea of posting pictures of children who are unable to agree to it.

Mind you, having said all that, dd has grown up into a typical teenager who posts dozens of selfies a day.

Mind you, having said all that, dd has grown up into a typical teenager who posts dozens of selfies a day.

Our kids post hundreds of picture and are leaving a huge social media footprint all by themselves! My older son posts loads of pictures of his younger brother. And he has done humiliating (on sorry, just a bit of fun he says) ones of me.

In a way we need to understand their world and be less dogmatic and fearful and more sensible and pragmatic.

No. & DD in her 20s barely uses FB + doesn't like pics of her being put up so I don't do it. I didn't put up pics of DCs when they were younger either. Just as well since now older they're not into it