Putting your minor children on social media in a two-parenthousehold

It may seem innocent to want to post pictures of your minor children. However, if you think through the many issues that could arise, it makes sense to make a gentleman’s agreement not to post pictures of them and ask your family and friends to do the same. Many years ago, I was working at my children’s overnight camp. It was the first summer that the camp posted daily pictures of the campers for the parents to access online. Immediately, we received a phone call from a frantic mother who wanted to know how her son got the black eye she saw in the picture. I went to the dining hall at lunch to inspect the child to find no black eye. I then went online to discover it was simply a shadow in the picture. Immediately, I realized that the ability to show pictures is both a blessing and a curse. It took a good deal of back and forth to convince this parent, who could not communicate directly with her child, that it was really nothing. Needless to say, this is just one simple example illustrating how posting pictures can create a larger issue.

In two-parent households, the best practice would be for parents to take photos and share them directly with each other, not on social media platforms.

Here’s why:

1. Photos can easily be misinterpreted.

2. Photos can be used in court.

3. Your minor children can’t permit their use.

4. Unwanted viewers can see where your children are.

5. You can unintentionally and unknowingly share personal and private information regarding your children through the photo.

Remember, your goal as parents is to protect your children, and this agreement could help in that, as well as assist in maintaining a cohesive co-parenting relationship.