Posting your baby on facebook...

[Amys Bling]

Well, my BFF just had her first baby. Seriously, I am not a baby person and he is the absolutely cutests baby I have ever seen - anyways, since the birth she has posted picture after picture of him everyday. There are probably about 100 pictures of him posted in the past 30 days. How do you feel about posting your baby's picture on facebook? I have mixed feelings about this myself.

I understand wanting to have an outlet to share with friends and family- but is posting on facebook too far- especially since we have learned that when you delete a picture off facebook it's never really gone....

 

[Lottie]

Its a tricky one, because understandably she is over the moon about her new baby and wants all of her friends to see how wonderful he or she is - do you know what her security settings are like? I have two children and lots of friends and family spread far and wide so I do post pictures of them on FB - however my security has been set so that only my friends or family can see my pictures and I do not have any friends on FB that are not my proper, real life, good friends. I would also never put a picture on of one of my children naked.

I think most people want to share pictures of their newborns - when the baby starts crawling she'll have much less time to post pictures on FB!

 

[Amys Bling]

Its a tricky one, because understandably she is over the moon about her new baby and wants all of her friends to see how wonderful he or she is - do you know what her security settings are like? I have two children and lots of friends and family spread far and wide so I do post pictures of them on FB - however my security has been set so that only my friends or family can see my pictures and I do not have any friends on FB that are not my proper, real life, good friends. I would also never put a picture on of one of my children naked.

I think most people want to share pictures of their newborns - when the baby starts crawling she'll have much less time to post pictures on FB!

she definitely has a few hundred friends on there- many of which are not really truly close friends...

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I have a lot of pictures of my kids on FB, but my page is basically on lock-down. On friends can see it, and I'm not searchable within FB or from Google, Yahoo, etc. I have a lot of friends who are not exactly close, but I choose not to live in fear.

 

[Haven]

I'm sure parents who choose to post photos of their children on FB weigh the possible consequences and decide that it's a safe choice.

That being said, my husband is constantly shocked that friends of his post pictures of their children on Facebook, and so I'm certain we won't be a family that chooses to do so.

 

[iheartscience]

I don't see a problem with it, personally. I think it's a great way for far off relatives to feel closer to the grandkids/nieces/etc. I have no kids but enjoy seeing the pics my friends and relatives put up, provided they don't stray into STFU Parents territory.

If I did have a kid I'd put pics up, although certainly not 100 in 30 days-too lazy for that! I know everyone on my friends list and am confident they wouldn't come murder my baby.

 

[purselover]

I'm torn on the topic too, I personally would probably just post one or two pics but I doubt 100's of photos like I see people do all the time as well.

 

[JillyC]

I love it that my relatives that live far away post photos of their lives and families! It makes me feel closer to them when I can't see them often. I also post photos of my kids (mostly grown) so that my friends and family can enjoy them. It's not a big deal to me. Your friend will probably slow down on posting the photos soon, so enjoy them while she's posting!

 

[ame]

I have no kids, nor any plans for any kids, but I would be locking those things down so tight if I ever posted any photos of my kids, and I definitely don't plan to post my child as my profile pic. The only time Ive posted a pic of a child was my friend's child who passed away at 6months old.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Only people I actually know in person have access to my FB account so only friend and family see my kids.

I do have another account on FB that I created to connect with some people from PS whom I have gotten to know well, mostly other mothers, but that is also a very constrainted account not visible to just anyone.

I don't like how on FB the default is for everyone to see your photo albums etc.

 

[nfowife]

I post lots of pics of my kids-not every day, but a few a week for sure. Just iphone pics usually when they do something cute. I have my account to friends-only. I don't worry about it. She just had a baby and it's amazing and she wants to share her experience. Understandable

 

[kenny]

So, what? Some perv is going to kidnap THAT particular baby?
Fear fear fear.

Never take your baby outside; I hear your baby can be struck by lighting or a meteor.
Never put your DNA-unit in a car . . . etc. etc. etc.

DNA sure messes with people's brains.

 

[Pandora II]

I don't really see what is to worry about? What can anyone do with them?

DH is a semi-professional photographer, we both have large extended families across the world, so we have literally thousands of photos of our daughter on it.

Our settings for photos are for 'Friends of Friends' and my husband has around 700 friends and I have around 200, so a lot of people who can see them. I'm not bothered at all - I daresay plenty of them just say 'Oh gawd, another gazillion pics of Daisy' and don't even look.

Due to my previous job, I am used to all my details being in the public domain so I suppose that might be a reason why I'm relaxed about it.

 

[MonkeyPie]

I post stupid amounts of photos of Micah because he is the center of my universe, and I think he's so cute it makes me want to puke. So I can't resist. Plus I do have family on there that is far away, and wouldn't otherwise be kept up to date on him - I'm not the type to send pictures of my kid randomly to people with captions like, "Omg, a new tooth!" So instead I post it in a place where those that are interested can look, and those that aren't can skip past it. My account is pretty tight - only those that are on my friend list can see what I post, pictures or otherwise - but I do have some PSers on my list that I have never met IRL. Does that mean they are going to come steal my kid? Not terribly likely. Living in fear is not a very healthy way to live.

 

[packrat]

Aimee if you quit posting pictures of Micah I might cry. Oh that face!

 

[iugurl]

I guess I don't really understand what "danger" there is to post a picture of you or your kid online. Can anyone explain?

 

[Amys Bling]

So, what? Some perv is going to kidnap THAT particular baby?
Fear fear fear.

Never take your baby outside; I hear your baby can be struck by lighting or a meteor.
Never put your DNA-unit in a car . . . etc. etc. etc.

DNA sure messes with people's brains.

I don't have that fear as I have hundreds of pics of myself and hubby on Facebook- but I know a lot of others that don't like the Ida...

 

[MonkeyPie]

Aimee if you quit posting pictures of Micah I might cry. Oh that face!

Oh, if you insist I seriously have a problem - I have over 600 pictures/video on my iPhone of this kid. Is there a group for this illness? Photo Takers Anonymous?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I am surprisingly okay with it. I did, however, stop posting photos of my DD on here. I just felt I had no control over who saw them and there are way too many lurkers. I assume most of my friends and family enjoy seeing photos of my daughter and those who don't, don't look at them. I don't post *that* many b/c I too am lazy.

 

[lbbaber]

I don't see it as a big deal. I post TONS of photos of my kids. Its the best way to share with my 10 siblings and their families spread around the country.

Facebook has so many options for privacy. My SIL has it set so that only 'family' can see the albums with her children in it. I have it set so that only people in my friends list can. If there is someone that I wouldn't want seeing the photos then they wouldn't be in my list. There is no way of knowing who your friend has allowed access to the hundreds of photos that she posted (it might not be all of the people in her list) and if the constant stream of photos is too much you can 'hide' it from showing up in your newsfeed and she will never know (so no hurt feelings).

I of all people understand wanting privacy. I had a stalker recently get out of jail after serving serving 6 yrs for crimes commited against me while he stalked. I was EXTREMELY worried he would search for me despite having a permanent restraining order. His 1st night out he did look for me around my old town (I moved before he got out!) and he found my brother to send me a message. I almost deleted my facebook in fear of this guy but then I realized I could 'block' him and it's as if I dont exist on facebook if he tries to look for me. Even if I post on a page he has access to he will not see me. There is always that option if you do not want someone in particular seeing your stuff.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

I too would like to know what "danger" is perceived by posting pictures of your child on facebook. The only thing I can think of is that a potential kidnapper could use details from the pictures to lure the child into the proverbial van - "oh your mommy told me how much you loved playing with the golden retreivers at ABC Park last week. I see you're still wearing the same hoodie; it's so cute. Is it your favorite? I like purple too!" But that's pretty farfetched, and though I don't have children and can't say how I'll feel, I don't think I'll worry about that sort of thing since someone would have to specifically seek my child out and then sift through all the other information on the www to find me and stalk my profile.

Personally, I'd be much more worried that I'm irritating my friends and getting blocked over thinking a pedophile is out to steal my child.

 

[zoebartlett]

I don't have kids but I have mixed feelings about seeing babies and kids on FB. On one hand, it's a great way to share photos with friends and family. On the other hand, who knows who's seeing it and/or what they're doing with a child's picture. I don't think I believe that FB is really secure, no matter how you set your privacy settings. That makes me nervous on my family and friends' behalf. I know a few people who work in law enforcement and they don't seem to have issue with their own children's pictures being on FB. That struck me as a little odd. I'd think that of all people,*they'd* be the ones who would choose not to have their kids' pictures on the Internet.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I post stupid amounts of photos of Micah because he is the center of my universe, and I think he's so cute it makes me want to puke. So I can't resist. Plus I do have family on there that is far away, and wouldn't otherwise be kept up to date on him - I'm not the type to send pictures of my kid randomly to people with captions like, "Omg, a new tooth!" So instead I post it in a place where those that are interested can look, and those that aren't can skip past it. My account is pretty tight - only those that are on my friend list can see what I post, pictures or otherwise - but I do have some PSers on my list that I have never met IRL. Does that mean they are going to come steal my kid? Not terribly likely. Living in fear is not a very healthy way to live.

Well stated MonkeyPie. And Thing2of2, I sure hope my friends tell me when/if I cross into STFU Parents territory....

That being said, I do try to exercise a certain level of caution. I don't post frontal nude shots and I don't post pictures of other children without getting the parent's permission. And my profile is on lock down to the public.

 

[Circe]

I've had enough creepers in my life that I barely use facebook. Sure, I have a presence, but I basically post witty bon mots and the occasional political observation: even though I screen who I friend pretty carefully, I wouldn't put it past, say, my stalker ex to have snuck onto my friends list under a fake name. So, NO, I will not be posting pics of my kid: the less people who I don't know well enough to e-mail directly know about me, the better.

It might be a different story for my husband, though, given that his whole family and all of his childhood-college friends are in Sweden. I won't forbid him ... but I will ask him to very carefully filter it to just the people he's sure he knows personally. It's the creepers I know who scare me, not the randos!

 

[ImperfectGirl]

I have mixed feelings about it. I don't think it's dangerous, but I just don't know yet if I want pictures of my kid all over the internet. I feel like once something is out in cyberspace, it's out there. My profile is pretty locked down and I only have about 70 friends, each of whom I know in real life so maybe I'll feel differently in the future. We have plans to adopt a baby girl next month and I do know that I won't post any pics of her on PS. As Tacori mentioned, there are too many lurkers and it's a public site.

 

[MonkeyPie]

And Thing2of2, I sure hope my friends tell me when/if I cross into STFU Parents territory....

That being said, I do try to exercise a certain level of caution. I don't post frontal nude shots and I don't post pictures of other children without getting the parent's permission. And my profile is on lock down to the public.

Lol I am pretty sure I've posted STFU Parents worthy type stuff in the past. I can think of a few offhand!

 

[monarch64]

FI has been on FB for years longer than I have (him, since 2005, me since 200 and he only friends people he is actually close with IRL. I, on the other hand, am a self-admitted friend collector. I love learning more about people I've lost touch with, or have met online, etc. I'm kind of an open book, I suppose. My point in saying this is that when we have a child, I will most likely keep a private photo album that can be viewed only by certain people, not only to appease Mr. Monarch, but to also safeguard our kid.

That said, I really like seeing umpteen photos of babies! I'm not even a huge baby fan, but there is something really nice about seeing someone's kid who I don't even know on my news feed, even if it's incessant! I like!

 

[lbbaber]

FI has been on FB for years longer than I have (him, since 2005, me since 200 and he only friends people he is actually close with IRL. I, on the other hand, am a self-admitted friend collector. I love learning more about people I've lost touch with, or have met online, etc. I'm kind of an open book, I suppose. My point in saying this is that when we have a child, I will most likely keep a private photo album that can be viewed only by certain people, not only to appease Mr. Monarch, but to also safeguard our kid.

That said, I really like seeing umpteen photos of babies! I'm not even a huge baby fan, but there is something really nice about seeing someone's kid who I don't even know on my news feed, even if it's incessant! I like!

Ha ha, I must be in facebook mode bc I just tried to 'like' your comment. I love seeing baby photos too

 

[TristanC]

I believe there should be more pictures of babies on facebook than there are pages in books of any grand library in the world.

I personally think it is ridiculous. But then again, I'm not a baby person. Maybe that will change when/if I ever see my own DNA toddling around. I'd much rather see pictures of Ragdolls.

But is there a risk? No. I don't think so. There ARE downsides though.

1. When your child is famous someday in a big way, you might not be able to sell the baby photos for an undisclosed 7 figure sum to a tabloid.
2. Your single friends (especially male ones it seems) might think you're a bit OTT with the babyness and ask you out less
3. You will have less of a personality as the bulk of your public expressions are of your child not of your thoughts. Which may well be the same thing.
4. You will have less time to spend photographing jewelry

 

[centralsquare]

I think posting a few pictures is perfectly fine, but the play-by-play updates is just a bit too much info for others and for safety purposes