Social media imposes on us in one way or another that we feel the need to share everything about our personal lives, especially when it comes to children. Happy.

According to a previous survey, 84% of mothers and 70% of fathers share their family photos via social media.

There are many reasons parents might want to share photos, including documenting happy memories online.

Sharing these photos also reduces the feelings of loneliness that many may experience during difficult times.

However, sharing your child's photos on social media has some risks, so you need to learn how to do it safely for your child.

The dangers of posting pictures of your child

The risks are not limited to posting your child's photos on social media, but publishing every information about you is a risk.

But because children need special care, you should know that sharing their photos means creating a digital footprint of your child, which can have negative effects including loss of privacy, financial fraud, and potential embarrassment for your children in the future.

Posting your child's photos means creating a digital fingerprint for him online (Getty Images)

Identity theft risk

Many parents have inadvertently shared confidential information about their children while sharing photos on social media.

This participation sometimes led to the theft of the identity data of the child and the parents.

Publishing pictures without our knowledge reveals the child's identity, full name, date of birth and city, as well as linking this information to the parents' personal information, which may lead - in the dark web world - to the family's exposure to extortion or theft.

difficult to remove

When you share photos online, it is difficult to erase them completely.

Even after you delete it from your account, the photo may have been shared by other people or saved by friends or even strangers.

Once you post a photo of your child even if you delete it after 10 seconds, there is already a chance that someone may have abused it.

“Puting a photo with identifying information online can also put your child at risk of blackmail, as well as photos being shared and altered for use in child pornography,” says child psychotherapist Jessica Vanderweer.

hidden terms

Many social media sites have hidden clauses in their terms and conditions that give them rights over the content you share on their platforms.

This means that when you post a photo of your child, you hand over the ownership of the photo to the platform owners, so they can use the photo as they see fit, thanks to your prior agreement to their terms.

When you share photos on the Internet, it is difficult to erase them completely even after you delete them from your account (pixels).

How do you share your child's photos safely?

Although some experts advise against this completely, there are many tips and tricks to help you safely share your child's photos.

Here are some tips to help you

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Check your privacy settings

Whether it's on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, it's best to use the stricter privacy settings these accounts offer anywhere you share your child's photos.

Make it clear in the post that you don't want your baby's photos to be shared by friends, and you should also remind them that it's important to ask for your permission before saving or sharing any photos of your baby.

Keep in mind that some platforms allow you to set notifications or permission to tag or share your photos, and let you know if someone decides to save the photo the traditional or "screen shot" way.

Check that geolocation is turned off regularly especially when you post pictures of your child (pixels)

Turn off metadata

Make sure that the photo does not include geolocation or date, or even tag/mention other account names, it may reveal any secrets or private information about your family.

Check that geolocation is turned off regularly, as software updates may default to sharing metadata.

Beware of posting data

You might not notice the name of your child's school or training venue for sports or talent, or for a photo of your child's art project to have their full name on it.

Remember that anyone planning to blackmail the family or threaten its security only needs to collect some small information here and there to achieve their goal.

Get permission from your child

If your child is of an age to understand their images being shared on social media, it is important that you ask their permission first, you need to respect their decision.

Ask your child about the place and picture that he prefers to publish, and the appropriate comment that he would like to add to the picture.

Refrain from posting pictures of other children

When sharing your child's photos, consider not only your child's privacy, but the privacy of other children.

Hence, no photos should be shared with other children inside without their parents' permission.

Read the privacy policies

When sharing your child's photos on social media, you should avoid sites that reserve the right to use your photos in any way you like.

You can usually find this information in the site's terms and conditions.

Psychological impact of over-involvement of a parent can lead to child embarrassment (Pixabay)

Don't allow bullying

Never accept that friends bully or make fun of your child, even as a joke, and also make sure that the sharing of photos is between friends only and not the public.

Even if your goal is to post funny pictures or stories of your children, you should keep in mind the long-term impact on them in the future.

The psychological impact of a parent's over-involvement can make a child feel embarrassed and can become a target for bullying, which has a negative impact on their mental health and even a sense of security in a relationship with a parent.