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Original poster

Do you post your kids pictures on social media?

152 replies

golden547 · 15/10/2022 23:55

I'm having a baby really soon and have had comments from people saying they can't wait to see pictures on my social media, but I'm unsure if I actually want to post my child's pictures online. There's just something about it that makes me feel uneasy.

Do you post pics of your kids? If not, why?

OP posts:
GlassDeli · 16/10/2022 00:22

No.

justanotherlaura · 16/10/2022 00:34

I won't be, as soon as something is on the internet you don't have control of it anymore, I'd hate for my child to be embarrassed by photos in the future.

I've got lots of photos from when I was a child I'd hate for people to see but thankfully they're all in a box in the loft rather than in a public forum

Topseyt123 · 16/10/2022 00:41

No. I never did and I never would. I might share the odd picture with a family member via WhatsApp, but have never used FB, Instagram or Twitter for anything like that. I think it is silly to do so, as if it does leak out then the damage could be huge.

Interested in this thread?

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Families
CheesyBeans1 · 16/10/2022 00:56

I used to post the odd picture, but was never prolific. Now my kids are old enough to feed back, I only post the rare shot that has been deemed acceptable.

CheesyBeans1 · 16/10/2022 00:58

To be honest, my oldest lives away from home and sends me acceptable pictures on demand, my youngest allows me official photos on special occasions and I only share them with close family.

CheesyBeans1 · 16/10/2022 00:59

He is not even thrilled about that. I would never plaster them on my minuscule Facebook profile

DysonSpheres · 16/10/2022 01:02

I saw a random video on YouTube a few weeks ago with angle I'd never thought of before (not being a sick person)

It was about a popular Instagram account a mum ran for her very young daughter. Her mum ran the account and posted pictures of her daughter and she had a lot of followers. All done in innocence.

But a pattern started to emerge where certain posts were 'saved' and commented on tons more times than others. The mother was curious to know what drove the trend and then saw a gross pattern emerging. Those times were of her daughter doing innocent things like sitting on the floor with her legs apart while playing or getting changed. Comments were also made that sounded innocent until scrutinized. Checking the accounts that left likes and comments revealed many of the commenters to be grown men.

It turned out that men were downloading the pictures of many popular kid accounts and distributing them online. Sharing them with just a click. Normal pictures showing briefest nudity or an innocent pose or phrase that could be twisted into sexual innuendo were more popular than others.

I can't find the video right now, but it was chilling. I'll search again tomorrow. I would never compromise my children's privacy especially when young knowing so many people can be vile and twisted. Not even on family only accounts.

NightsByTheLake · 16/10/2022 01:23

No, never. Kids can’t consent and once they’re on the internet, they’re out there forever. And too many paedos that use any photo of children.

Our kids are teenagers and both very happy that we didn’t post photos and stuff about them online.

FlippertyGibberts · 16/10/2022 08:19

This is a really interesting thread, but the answers are a bit skewed (possibly because of the title) away from what I see IRL.

Snowpaw · 16/10/2022 08:25

I have chosen not to because I think that she can’t consent to her pictures being online. And I just feel uneasy about it. Like, my DD is so innocent and pure, and if I have a photo of her doing something lovely and wonderful, I think, she’s not posing here for people to croon over. She’s just expressing herself, or I’ve captured a lovely moment that I want to record for myself only. We’re old school and print out photo books - I want her to have physical pictures she can look through when she’s older. Not everything being online and on a screen. She’s being born into a digital world but I want her to have other options too.

It is totally an individual decision though and I have no beef with what others choose to do.

Autumntime2022 · 16/10/2022 08:27

No family history of it being used to contact children behind their parents back, wouldn’t want that person to have access to my children’s images.

Simonjt · 16/10/2022 08:32

Yes and no, we do, but just post the ones where their faces are naturally obscured, we don’t post many and we don’t post ‘funny’ or innapropriate anecdotes.

BanjoVio · 16/10/2022 08:38

I won’t be posting any of mine when s/he arrives. I’m so uninterested in endless photos of my friends’ kids, so why would anyone be interested in mine? I muted some close friends (including my best friend) on Instagram because it was a relentless feed of daily baby photo updates.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 16/10/2022 08:41

I only put on my WhatsApp but my eldest child is on other peoples social media- her god mothers, her schools, her holiday camps.
tbh it doesn’t bother me- what actually pissed me off was a friend who sent pics of my child on to other friends of hers who I vaguely knew.

Snowpaw · 16/10/2022 08:44

There is a mother I know also whose life is very much not like she portrays on social media. I’ve been on days out with her family and the reality of the day was not like the photos she chose to share. I don’t like the idea of social media being the filter that people live their lives through and I don’t want to ever give my daughter the impression that she has to smile for some staged photo to go online.

When I was pregnant I chose not to share photos of my pregnancy and I was interrogated by a woman I was only vaguely friends with at my gym about “why I was keeping it a secret? Why couldn’t she post about it yet?”. I don’t know why she wanted to post about my pregnancy?! And it wasn’t a secret, I just only spoke about it in real life to my friends and family. And when the baby was born she visited and plastered photos of herself (immaculately made up and posing) holding my newborn. With floods of “you look great hun” messages underneath. It was just a lot for me to process in the throes of post-partum and I felt cross at her about it. My baby wasn’t about her. I guess it led to me forming my views about social media.

freyamay74 · 16/10/2022 08:45

My kids are older so can give consent and occasionally I've posted family group photos which include them.

I certainly didn't before they were old enough to give consent. It makes me shudder how some parents vlog their children's lives, even posting photos and information about potty training, or when they're ill or when they've done something wrong like whacking a sibling, often dressed up as 'funny' anecdotes. Perhaps these parents never stop to think it's all out there now, those photos and information and will be when the kids have grown up, have their own independence, work lives etc

stargirl1701 · 16/10/2022 08:46

Yes but only photos in public. Anyone could take a photo in public and post it.

SatinHeart · 16/10/2022 08:57

Nope. None at all.

JhsLs · 16/10/2022 08:59

No. Why should my baby be the subject of other people’s judgement. I want to protect his privacy.

Afterfire · 16/10/2022 09:02

I do but I only have very close friends and family on there, literally 30 close friends / family. Account is completely private. And I only share photos I wouldn’t mind anyone seeing anyway - like posed holiday pics or days out etc. I’d never post bath pics etc. Dc are 10 and 19 and happy for their pics to be shared. If they didn’t like it or asked me to stop I would.

megletthesecond · 16/10/2022 09:03

Yes, but less so as they got older. And never anything embrassing. Teen DS is a police cadet and I would never pop that on FB.

Wheelz46 · 16/10/2022 09:04

I don't post photos of my kids on social media and friends and family have just followed suit. I know you can change settings to who can view them but for me, the memories are for us as a family and anyone wishing to see them, will be family and close friends who can come round and look through my good old fashioned photo album!

I am so glad, I chose not to too as my eldest who now has his own phone is part of a class WhatsApp group and one of the girls has been posting photo's of other kids that's she's seen and taken a snap of from her mother's Facebook profile.

The kids whose photos were shared were absolutely mortified, apparently the mother thought it was funny! Obviously parents have now defriended said parent but the damage has already been done!

bettbburg · 16/10/2022 09:04

No, never. I waited until they were old enough to make a choice and they all said no.

weekendninja · 16/10/2022 09:05

I post occasionally with my DC.

As a previous poster has said, they are selective over their social media 'friends' so there is no surprises who is viewing it. We have family in the UK and abroad.

A typical example of a DC photo is my DS riding his new bike. I see no safeguarding issues/intrusion of privacy. You have to be sensible with it.

If he wants it taken down when he is older I will oblige.

SunnyNights · 16/10/2022 09:06

I haven't posted any pictures on social media of our children. I would have hated having pics of me as a child online so don't do it to them.

Children are 24 (so social media wasn't an around when they were young anyway), 11 and 13.