5 Compromises I Made Regarding Sharing My Child Online

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A couple weeks ago I wrote about why I was apprehensive about sharing my child online. Truthfully, a lot of those things still don’t sit well with me and I would like to think that I could not share about my baby on Facebook at all. It’s not that I don’t want to share information. We’re the first generation that is really having to deal with this. Our parents didn’t have the internet and weren’t able to post every little thing. While I’d rather share information about my baby with loved ones in a less public manner, since becoming pregnant, I’ve realized it’s going to be nearly impossible to not share my child online. So there are a few compromises that I’ve come up with, a guideline of sorts of what will be allowed online. I fully expect these compromises to change as he grows and as he’s able to make decisions for himself too. But for right now this is where I stand.

 My Compromises

1. People are Excited

I didn’t want to announce on Facebook that I was pregnant. But family members kept asking me when they could share the news.I realized that other people were really excited to share with their friends too, especially the grandparents. Of course they are excited! And they should be able to share the news. I didn’t want to stifle their happiness.

2. Experiences

Let’s face it, I’m a photographer and there will be a million photos taken of this child. I want to be able to share them, and to be able to take about my experiences as a mom with all of you. I know a lot of my clients are new moms too or are on the brink of motherhood. I want to be able to relate to you and share in our experiences.

3. No Oversharing

While I want to share my experience, I will not be oversharing. There may be talk about my struggles as a mother, but to avoid embarrassing my son as he gets older I will not be oversharing about things he does. No bath pictures, or blow out pictures, no one wants to see those anyway!

4. No Names

I will not be using my sons name online. While I haven’t fully decided what we will call him when posting, it will probably be L or baby L. It just makes sense since it’s our last name and doesn’t give any information about him away.

5. Pull Back Shots

I will probably not be posting a lot of photos where you can see my sons full face. I plan on posting more pull back shots, family interactions, or close ups of feet and toes. This way he can still be online, but he’s still sort of hidden.

While these compromises may seem over the top to some people, to a new mom who is a little neurotic, this is what I feel most comfortable with. I realize we aren’t high profile people, but I still feel that there are certain dangers online that I should mitigate and protect my child from. Do you post about your child online? How did you decide if you were going to post your baby? I’d love to hear what your thoughts are on this in the comments below.