Using photos of children

[netherlee]

One thing my DCs school regularly check with us is whether we object to using pictures of them in any articles, website or any other medium. Rightly or wrongly I have always refused this and of course the school follow this. I know they are just pictures of children (fully clothed etc.) but there is no way of knowing what hands they could fall into.

Am I just being overprotective?

Sorry, I just noticed your added message.

The thing is I feel sorry for them too. I think it's horrible having to be removed/distracted and so on, so as not to feel left out.

I wouldn't do it to my child without good reason, or what I consider good reason. It's peace of mind for me among other things.

But I hate doing it to him. I wish they didn't have photos taken at all then he wouldn't have to go through it. Please don't think I'm being cruel though.

Schools will always have photos-it is good publicity in these days when you need to 'sell' your school-and it gives a high profile in the community.

I don't know your reasons, but I always instinctively tick only the boxes for internal use-classroom use, school closed sites, student and teacher training, but not those for public consumption (newspapers, publicity, websites).

I don't really fear abuse, and have no present reasons to object, I just don't like the idea of not having control over them later should circumstances change, and know it would be impossible to act retrospectively.

nope

I wouldn't make the same decision, but its your decision to make and you can say no for any reason, or even no reason at all

They're your kids, do what you like...

At our school, the children who can't be photographed tend to be those ones whose parents are, for example, in the police, and fear the children possibly being harmed as retribution for things the parents have done at work.

The problem is when the children don't know that they aren't allowed to be photographed, and might just feel left out when they get removed every time a camera comes out. One year I was about to take a picture and asked the ones who weren't allowed to be photographed to move off to the side... two or three who were allowed pictures taken duly moved off to the side, and the little girl who couldn't be in pictures just sat there in the middle of the group, smiling away, waiting to have her picture taken. I felt awful telling her she needed to move.

It depends why. If your child can be identified, and is associated with a school, then the child's (and probably your) location, running to a predictable and regular timetable, will be known.

For some families, this presents a risk. These families are not necessarily making their specific vulnerability public knowledge.

Refusing permission is a perfectly reasonable response.

If there are individual children who cannot be photographed, then the whole event shouldn't be filmed/snapped. It wrong to highlight vulnerable children in any way - including to their peers.

dear op - yes your a loon