Friday, March 28, 2014

Blogging and Kids

Shortly after I started this blog, I thought I would add a weekly segment where David and I discussed the books we were reading together. Our very first book was I Can Do It Myself. Some months, we posted almost every week. During some months, we didn't get to it very often. But it was something he was excited about and it started a great tradition for us where we read together and then talked about the stories.

Recently, David didn't seem to be as excited about doing book reviews. When he said he didn't want to talk about his books, I let it go for a few months. I love that he loves reading and I don't want to make it an obligation. I want it to be something that is fun for him. Since then, David has started reviewing books again. In fact, he wanted to sit down and review several books at once.

When I recently read an article by the lovely Sarah Bessey about giving her children some privacy, I started to really think about how the kids appear here on my blog. I appreciated what Sarah wrote about getting permission from her older kids before she posted their pictures or wrote about events in their lives. I think, as parents, we certainly don't want our kids to grow up to find embarrassing pictures and stories that will be stuck in cyberspace for eternity.

There's also the persistent worry that your pictures of your precious kids will end up on someone else's website or used by a company without your knowledge. That is some scary stuff. I want to share some pictures of my kids because they are (obviously) a big part of my life. At the end of the day, this blog is for me to remember the books that I love and the things that were happening in my life during this time. I love doing the 52 series and I think it's going to be a lot of fun to look back on at the end of the year. But every time I post a picture, I put a watermark on it in the hopes that it will deter any would-be picture stealers.

I want my children to be a part of this blog, as long as they want to be. Now that David is getting older, he can decide if he wants to talk about books with me or if he wants his pictures up here on the blog. Today, he loves both of those things. Next month, he might feel differently and that's ok.


If you are a parent or grandparent, how do you decide what  to post online about your kid(s)?

12 comments:

  1. I would love to post photos of my cute little grandkids bur their mother doesn't want me to, so I respect her wishes. And my adult kids want no part of my blog, sigh...that leaves my pets, ha! I love to see pics of bloggers' kids and the idea of them enjoying reading! Keep up the good work and thanks.

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    1. Haha. Your grownup kids don't want you to gush over how cute they are? How strange! :)

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  2. I recently had this 'dilemma' with myself... You've read my blog and so I'm sure you're aware that my little one features a fair bit - largely because my blog is a mash up of things not just a book blog, a personal blog - however lately I have decided to lessen the content with him in. Of course he is a very central part of my life and so it's only natural for me to want to blab about him - like when we had our first full nights sleep ever - but I do worry about people stealing images and such like. When he is older I will of course respect his wishes but for now I can't help but want to shout from the rooftops about my cutie, being a new mum and all. However I have consciously thought more about what I will and won't post regarding him.
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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    1. Of course we have to brag about how wonderful our little ones are! :)

      I always find it interesting to read about other parents and their children and see how other parents handle the ins and outs of this crazy parenting thing. :)

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  3. Over time the amount I say and present about Greyson on my blog has changed. For some reason I keep updates about him mostly to Facebook, simply for the privacy and the fact that family are following there, in addition to book friends. It was never a conscious decision, but it just happened that way and it seems to work for us. Great, thoughtful post!

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    1. Thanks Andi. I think it varies from parent to parent and I think, for most of us, that it will change with time and circumstance. Thanks for sharing your thoughts too!

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  4. It's a tough call, I think. But I think you've managed a safe and sane balance on your blog vis a vis your kids.

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  5. I'm a mother of two but my blog is solely about the books I read.I keep the kids out of it for the simple reason that I don't like to blend the personal and the literary.

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  6. This is really really tough and it's something I've struggled with quite a bit. I've been blogging for almost 7 years and sometime during that duration my blog became much more personal. Then I had my first baby and I started getting those searches looking for cute baby pictures. I immediately set up a private blog and removed all of the pictures of her. Since then I've relaxed a bit and added some of the pictures back and include pictures of my newer daughter (I'm in the process of writing up a monthly update for her right now). I try to limit the amount of pictures I post...both here and on FB/Instagram, but it is also hard to stop being a personal blogger when I've come to love it so much. Your balance sounds like a smart one.

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    1. Thanks Trish. I am really appreciating the input on this one. The personal touch makes it so much more interesting and gives me as a reader a better chance to get to know you. But there are some scary considerations as a parent!

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