Parents love to talk about their children and show pictures of their children, which is normal. It tells about parents’ love, pride and building community.
But with the explosion of social media, funny stories of your kids or cute pictures and videos that you shared with just your family, your colleagues or the other parents can now be shared with literally the entire world.
Sometimes, sharing isn't a big deal. But sometimes, it is.
“Sharenting" can become terribly wrong. Your innocent child may fall prey to some unwanted incidences.
When online, nothing is completely private and everything is permanent.
You can and should use privacy settings; however, there are always ways that doesn't mean it's completely gone.
Ultimately, it's not your information; it is your child’s information.
A quick Google search can show all information about a person. Children do have the right to choose what becomes public about them.
Questions you should ask yourself before sharing anything about your children:
Why are you sharing it? This is the most important question, as it's not your information, it's your child's information and unless you have a good reason, you should avoid sharing.
Would you like someone to share it about you? This isn't always the perfect question, as someone among you might be an extrovert and will be happy to share and your child might grow up to be an introvert who wants to be private, but if you happen to see your photo shared by your parent wherein you are naked on a potty, maybe you should avoid sharing the same picture of your child.
Think, could your child be embarrassed by it, now or in the future? Sharing such kind of information out to the world is not appropriate.
Is there anyone who shouldn't see this about your child, now or at any time in the future? If the answer is yes, avoid sharing. If what you are thinking of posting could come back and affect your child in any way ever, avoid it.
Is this something you want to be part of your child's digital footprint? Even if the information is not embarrassing, how does it portray your child? You'd probably want your child to come across as smart, well-behaved, kind and successful. Does what you are posting help it or hinder it?
Ideally, you should talk to your partner and then decide whether to post anything or not. Eventually, this is about being thoughtful, careful and kind.
Source:
Sharenting: 5 Questions to Ask Before You Post[Internet]. Available at:
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Sharenti.... Accessed on Feb 26, 2020.