Let’s talk about back-to-school photos.

Most of us love seeing our friends’ children all spiffy (or not), smiling (or not), and ready to set the world on fire (or not) on the first day of school. I, for one, truly appreciate the opportunity to see your babies grow.

What I don’t love is how keenly identifying some of those posts are.

Is it mean to give them a sign that says “178 days to go”?

I’m talking about…

• Identifying your child’s school, building, teacher. True enough, most people can figure out or already know where you live, but specifying, “He’s a WILD WOLF in the class of 2034, starting first grade at ABC Elementary. ABC School District is the best, and we love Mrs. Xxxx.”
  • Instead, keep it more general: “This guy is so ready for 1^st grade and super excited to have the same teacher his big brother had. It’s going to be an awesome year.” Everyone who needs to know the other stuff already does.
• Some people do posts that include height, weight, eye color, birthdate, graduation year, favorite color, favorite animal, etc. This is all the stuff of passwords and security questions, so don’t.
• Skip the exceedingly detailed signs. I opt for school year, maybe first name; i.e., “Sophomore 2022-2023” or “Jack, Junior 2022-2023.” This is enough information for all the people you haven’t seen since your baby shower to say, “OMG. He’s so big. How did he get so old?” You’re still givin’ ‘em what they need!
• Photos are usually staged pretty quickly before school, so think ahead and look around outside. Find a spot that doesn’t reveal…
  • Your house number.
  • Your street.
    

    Smilin’ like Mama told us.

  • The bus stop location.
  • The school bus company, school name, or bus number.
  • Your vehicle’s license plate.
  • The path your child takes when walking to and from school or the bus stop.
  • What time they will be standing at said bus stop or making that trek each day.
• My concern applies to those drop-off photos for college too.
  • Posting a photo of your beautiful 18-year-old, never-lived-on-her-own-before daughter posing in front of the residence hall sign or pointing at her room number isn’t the wisest idea. Take the photo, just don’t use it for your post.
  • Posting the photos of every aspect of their room set-ups isn’t great either. If the photos show that s/he loves giraffes, shops at Trader Joe’s, has a huge stash of Starbucks coffee, plays on the hockey team, is addicted to Taco Bell, and is running for class president, that’s a lot of information that strangers don’t need to know. Again, take those photos. They are fun. Just don’t post them.

Our children will, usually too soon, establish their own social media presence (or not). We should keep an eye on their accounts, offer gentle guidance as they figure out what might be TMI for their posts, and all of that, but when we are posting, we need to learn not to share every single detail – and it doesn’t matter if your account is locked down so only your friends can see things, your pictures still become part of the cyber world and CAN be found, shared, and used in ways you don’t want.

HARMONY makes the world go round!

(Plus, with social media, you agreed to those terms, so don’t even bother posting that thing about withdrawing your permission. You checked the legal agreement to start your account and give further consent every time you use this “free” service of social media.)

Because I use social media for my business, I break some of these rules sometimes, but I’m still cautious with what I post about my children, and I hope you’ll take a look at your posts and consider editing what is a little too revealing, identifying, or location-specific for your family.

Of course Dani’s Pixel Place has a solution for you!

Every one of these concerns is assuaged by using your FOREVER® Storage to share your photos. Put the

“I am special,” starting pre-school

basic celebratory photo on social media to brag about your beautiful children. Load the photos of all the important details in your account, click the share button and send the rest to grandma directly and securely.

Remember, FOREVER®’s agreement puts YOU in charge of your files – we will never data mine, share, or delete any of your files. You can read more about that in the GUARANTEE FUND or on the FOREVER® Storage page.

Dani’s Pixel Place offers so much that will make your memory celebration and story telling easy, permanent, and safe for everyone!

If something really stood out to you, let me know. If you have additional thoughts based on your own mistakes or observations of social media posts, please add those in the comments or reach out to me to share your thoughts. This is an important dialogue that applies to all our social media posts, not just back-to-school photos.

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Of to day one – 1st, 2nd, 4th grades!