A week or so ago I read this post on Parenting Blogs Respect Your Kids’ Privacy and this article on Cnet . I think the authors makes a great point and one that we all need to be reminded of. I ask my kids now before I post things about them and ALWAYS before I post their work. I have tried to limit the amount of negative posting I have done about any of them or about our family in general. Part of what gives off the image of "superhero" over here.
Since Sirah actually has the above shirt - I am sensitive to this. I also often wear an "I'm blogging this" shirt myself. I asked Rhia if she wanted a shirt like this and she rolled her eyes at me and said that sometimes she wishes we were just normal and not bloggers. Of course she then also asked me that same week if she could begin blogging herself. When they were younger I shared more but I guess right around age 6 or so I started asking them - when it seemed they cared and I have tried to respect that. Sometimes when discussing the way I handle something myself I suppose I am inherently revealing details about them as well.
I think it is a good thing for people to think through and to remember why they decided to blog in the first place. For me I started blogging so I could share some details about our family with family throughout the country, so I had a sort of written history of our days for the kids in the future, and so I had a place to keep all the lessons and ideas that were useful to me. My blog has evolved over the years and is continually changing. I am now at the point where I have people who know me in real life that read it as well as people who do not know me in real life. We are at the point where some of Rhia's friends parents read my blog though none of her friends do yet or for awhile I hope!
I have met people who later discover they have read my blog and suddenly they know a whole lot more about me then I about them. Or they have an image in their mind of what my life is - but that image is based soley on my blog and I have news for you - you don't see my whole life in this blog as much as it may seem like it. But that all comes with the territory. It is weird when it happens though.
I do think respecting the privacy of those we know in real life is important, especially our children and spouses. I guess in some ways I am protective in what I share and blog about - of course I am not always and you can read about some of our flaws and funny and not so funny moments here as well. But I do think through "Would I be okay if my kids read this?" before I post and if I change my mind later I delete it. As they get older I ask them before I post - interestingly the thing they are most sensitive about posting is their art work or I would probably share more of it.
So just a reminder to all those family bloggers out there if you have not thought through these issues yet (which I am guessing most of you have) take some time to think them through. Decide if you want to discuss it with your children, and you and your spouse should be in agreement with each other about what to share and not share about your family. It is a big web and it is true that you never know who will stumble across your blog and then stumble across you. Or who knew you in the past and now finds you again through the web. Or how many people you know in real life read your blog and don't tell you about it (which has also happened to me). Respect your family privacy.
My kids read my blog (not the twins, obviously, but the others). Sometimes they may not read it until later, but I can never assume they won't read it ever. So I always have that in the back of my mind when posting.
ReplyDeleteMy brother exposes quite a bit about his kids - the good and the bad. But his kids don't read his blog. We often ask him if he worries about them reading it.
I like the comparison to the naked baby pictures in a baby book - although those aren't available to anyone with an Internet connection.