Stop! Don't Post That

Why parents should not overshare photos of their kids on social media

- Melanie Hempe

Your 6-year-old son made you the sweetest Mother’s Day card. Your teen scored the winning soccer goal. Your daughter just turned 11. You want to share pictures of these events and accomplishments. No harm, right? Consider this: the average child has had 1,500 pictures posted online by parents before the age of 5. You mean no harm, but when you publicly share photos, you reduce the benefits of your family’s special private times and traditions, and it may hurt your child.

Why Privacy Really Matters to Kids

Relationship. “When parents over post, I believe it changes the nature of the parent child relationship,” says Richard Freed, PhD, author of “Wired Child.” Parents go from experiencing moments of shared experiences with their children to focusing on perfect photos and videos for their life online.

“The phone replaces the more important high-fiving a child and looking them in the eye and saying ‘nice going’ when they performed well or learned to ride a bike. It leads kids to feeling that they are to perform rather than simply be who they are,” he says.