Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by annievv on September 8, 2008 at 4:03pm

I do, but I don't use any of our names.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on September 8, 2008 at 5:59pm

I wanted to clarify what my 'fear' is about posting pictures of my children since the question was posed. Online creepies. It's true that the odds are greater of running into a creep in your own neighborhood, but in day and age where predators and pedophiles "roam free" online, I think that it's natural for us to want to protect the identity of our children. I was a psychotherapist and have worked with clients who have been victims of online predators, so I suppose I am also more sensitive to the subject. All to often, predators are able to identify kids online - even if it is through a mommy blog - and stalk them or try to get more information. Certainly, this is rare, but it happens.

I would respectfully disagree that exposing your children online is similar to going to a playgroup or the park. There are far more internet surfers than there are people at the park. That being said, I am in no way trying to turn this into drama. I understand that it is a personal preference and choice. But I do think that for some of us, it can be a real fear and dilemma. No matter what our choice, we make the one that is most comfortable for us.

Karen Clark said:

I wonder what the fear is about putting your kids' pics online? The odds are far greater of running into a creep right in your home town who has easier access to your kids due to proximity and the ability to follow you around and discover your patterns etc. I put pics of my kids up without hesitation but have always been curious as to why others won't. What could possibly happen? We write about our kids, people online know we have kids and in most cases can figure out their age and gender. To me it isn't any different than walking out your door, going to a playgroup, hanging out at the park. So what if people know I have kids or know how cute they are? We risk being exposed to weirdos every day in real life, and odds are the ones online don't live anywhere nearby. There's my $0.02! :)
Karen

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Permalink Reply by Finn on September 8, 2008 at 6:03pm

I post pictures of my kids, and I use their names. I do not post what town we live in or our last name. Also, the pictures I post I make sure they are not embarrassing pictures of my children.

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Permalink Reply by Myra on September 8, 2008 at 9:28pm

I show faces and our first names only. I wholeheartedly agree with Karen. I want to be cautious but I don't think it keeps us safer to keep our faces offline.

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Permalink Reply by Keely on September 8, 2008 at 11:27pm

I post pics and videos and use only his first name, and never disclose locations, although I suppose if someone were interested enough they could find out that information. There are many more immediate things to worry about, for me.

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Permalink Reply by BabyFriendlyLA on September 9, 2008 at 1:04pm

Yes, but nothing face on or if so, it's not a current picture.

In addition to my blog, I have a dedicated, password protected family site for her where I post all of her 9 zillion pictures and videos.

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Permalink Reply by Debra Legg on September 9, 2008 at 1:26pm

I'm with you, Elizabeth. I post, but faces obscured. I have a few up that violate that, but I'm going to take them down.

My concern is not so much who might be looking, but invading their privacy. I'm afraid somewhere along the line a teacher who's read about their beastly behavior on my blog might have preconceived notions based on that. And, in reality, they behave much better at school than they do for me. Go figure!

Although I blog under my full name, the guys' last name is different and I don't use their first names, so I'm mostly able to keep their indentities under wraps from the wordwide web at large. I also obscure where we live. I know that won't last forever, though.

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Permalink Reply by Jenni on September 10, 2008 at 9:58pm

I post pictures and their first names (Douglas and Jack). I feel perfectly comfortable with it...but I can see why other people feel more protective!

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Permalink Reply by Nadine Sheree on September 10, 2008 at 10:32pm

I look at it this way: the newspaper can take a random pick and publish it if they want, with my kids in it. Anyone who REALLY wants a picture of my kids has thousands of opportunities to take their own whenever we are in public. So, I share:) But - as a rule, I won't share anything that has nudity or indecency of any kind no matter how minor.

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Permalink Reply by Ann Harrison on September 10, 2008 at 11:07pm

I do understand the fear, the paranoia. I felt that way when I started my blog.
I felt uneasy with posting pictures of my children, but then I thought 'what exactly was I afraid of?'.
I was worried that someone might hurt my children. Well, it took me a while to realize that no one will go to the ends of the earth to find my family and try to hurt them.
If you feel that you have memories you would like to share with your blog friends I hope that you will!
You will know when the time is right for you.

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Permalink Reply by Jamie Squeaky on September 10, 2008 at 11:59pm

I don't use any of our names on my site. This is mostly due to being a military family. If I ever get really pissed off and want to write something bad about the military it can't come back to my husband. Also he has one of those jobs that if I said what he did then it would only take a few minutes to find out who we were and where. It's not hard to find people on the internet these days. It's really amazing how little information you need. My mother in law had her mail sent to our house for a while and all you had to do was type in a search with her name and you were given her mailing address, phone number and directons to my house. There are even programs that will show what the house looks like. I just put a pic of my boys on my site because my husband said I should show people what I was talking about. I am not thrilled about it. I love them and try to keep them safe as much as possible. We check the www.familywatchdog.us site for offenders in our area, it really is a great site. I draw the line with putting the logo's on my car with my family size and kids names, and I won't advertise when my husband is deployed. If someone wants to search the internet to find me they are going to have to work a little for it. Sorry for making this so long. I have a lot of opinions about this subject and I just posted a blog on my site not too long ago.

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Permalink Reply by Nicole - The Pixel Boutique on September 11, 2008 at 10:19am

I agree with Karen. I am much more fearful of someone seeing my kids in the grocery store and following us home. Or something along those lines. There are SO many more dangers in their every day, normal lives than there are online. Statistically, around 85% of crimes committed against children are in person from someone they know.

I choose to post my kids' pictures but not their names. And NEVER their school name or our last name. Or that their playing baseball with "Such-and-such team" at "Such-and-such Park" at 7:00 tomorrow night!

I'm married to a paranoid cop and if HE doesn't have a problem with it, then I feel ok about it. Great discussion question, Elizabeth!

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