Here is a list of the back to school photos you should not post online, plus one other important safety tip!
Summer is sadly coming close to an end again and the excitement of back to school time is starting to swell.
I know on the very first day your camera batteries will be charged and you’ll have a fresh memory card waiting to take all those fun beginning of the year photos. But I want to remind you as you go to post them online, the few you should keep to yourself. (affiliates included)
As much as I believe in the goodness of people, there are bad ones out there, too and there are certain things I’d like to keep from them.
Of course, all of these pictures are perfect for your photo albums and memory books, but there are a few that only need to be seen in those places; never on the internet.
Photos That Show Your House Number
I know, most of the people that you are Facebook friends with know exactly where you live. But, photos don’t just stay on Facebook and Instagram, they also make their way to Google and Pinterest and all over the internet. They can go far, quick and you never, ever want your kids picture with their address on it roaming the world wide web.
Photos That Show What School Your Kid Goes To
This is any photo that shows people where your kid goes to school. Again, do all your friends know already? Yep, but the rest of the world doesn’t. This includes:
- the sign on the front of the building
- school notebook or folder
- badge
- t-shirt
- flyer
- supply shopping list
- registration form
- yearbook
Photos With The School Bus
Standing next to the bright yellow school bus is a pretty fun and iconic photo. Make sure when posting online, you don’t post any picture that has numbers on it. Those black letters on the side of the bus are identifying markers and you definitely don’t want anyone knowing what bus your kid comes home on. This also includes photos near the back of the bus that show the license plate.
Photos With Other Peoples Kids In Them
This is tricky sometimes, I get it. But the question you want to ask yourself is do you want other people posting photos of your kids online? I’m not referring to friends and family, heck they do that all the time and it’s fine. I mean people you don’t know and are not friends with. If there is a clearly identified kiddo that you don’t know personally, don’t post it online. Blurred kids in the background are OK.
So take as many photos as your heart desires, the first day of school is so exciting! Just remember to take a little precaution when you post them online.
One More School Safety Tip
For the little ones, don’t put their name on the back pack! Only an initial.
How To Make A School Memory Binder
Do you keep a lot of your kids school papers? I do and making these binders has given me the freedom to get rid of random papers and just keep our favorites and things that are special to us. Go check it out.
Liz is a just a mom trying to keep it real about how little she sleeps, how often she gets puked on and how much she loves them. You can find her here every day writing about real-mom moments.
PUTTING FEAR INTO EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES IS NOT ONLY DRIVING PEOPLE INSANE BUT, GIVING IN TO THOSE FEARS….KIDS GET ON BUS AT HOME, GET OFF BUS AT SCHOOL, AND REPEATED ON THE WAY HOME…SUPERVISED AT EACH STEP OF THE WAY…
I was a corrections officer.. trust me when I say predators wait for this time of year online. Better safe than sorry. Just sayin!
Respectfully, this is very uneducated thinking. Several years ago I had a very frightening experience with an online creep – and I am not of an age that one might find “interesting.” It was annoying, then concerning – but the night he told me (while I was walking my dog in the dark on a deserted country road that I “looked pretty in my red sweater” the irritation turned to terror. The police became involved. An officer walked into my house and demonstrated to me on my computer within 2 minutes how I had innocently given information on Facebook that made me utterly “findable” – ending with a pretty glossy Google maps photograph of my house, it’s address, and what was parked in the driveway. He could tell me how many people lived in my home, and what size my dog was. This article offers valuable information. Please heed it. I wish I had known.
It happens !!! I was in Walgreens ran to the very next isle to grab shampoo my 11 year old daughter was looking at make up and that fast my daughter was targeted! I live in a good town he just thought she was alone! It’s in the blink of an eye something can hay! I’d rather be safe then sorry. Think about it. Your life can change in seconds. Research how many kids are taken on the way home from school. It’s sickening!
An average of 115 children are kidnapped by total strangers a year. Everyone says “better safe than sorry” in regards to child predators, then they climb into the car with their children. I guess it’s only to be “better safe than sorry” when it doesn’t inconvenience you because more children are injured and killed in and by cars than are in danger from strangers.
What do you mean by “targeted?”
Or just configure your privacy settings and only share photos online with friends and family?? It’s funny how that isn’t mentioned at all, and the assumption is that people are sharing photos with the general public. They are all great tips to keep in mind for those sharing photos publicly in blogs. Or on social media, but sharing photos of your kids publicly on social media is pretty rare, at least among people I know.
Sharing them with privacy settings set even to the strictest settings on line so very little to now good.
All of this information is a simple matter of public record for homeowners. Predators can easily get your address with just your name, then figuring out what school your child attends and a bus route is also simple to track down.
While it is certainly wise to be cautious with your privacy settings, there comes a point where you just have to let go of the fear of everything and just live. Share the photos that are meaningful to you.
I have my facebook setting to private. Only my friend can what I post. My friend list is my close family members not all of them and really close friends. If you someone that am not close to But know your on the public list and your not seeing much of anything.
This post is so very true from the beginning to the end. I work in law enforcement and although so many believe my page is private, that means nothings. The privacy settings can easily be bypassed. I work with predators daily and you wouldn’t believe the extreme measures taken. The article is spot on for many reasons. Be cautious!
I appreciate all the comments about privacy, but on FB for example they automatically tag friends, family, etc… and they automatically put your location in (this happened awhile ago as one of their updates). You can remove it, but you have to remember to do it. Then even if you have your setting to just your friend and family list if your friend comments on your photo (this includes liking it) then all their friends can see they’ve done that and have access to your photo, and if a friend of a friend likes it then all their friends can see it. Your photo can be seen exponentially and you have no control. Also all digital photos are embedded with date, time and depending on the device (iPhones for example) location unless you have removed this setting at the base level. The way our family has decided to share is via a secret FB group with only people we have have chosen to invite. This allows us to be social without our photos being shared exponentially, but we also know that by sharing anything on FB we are giving away our rights to those photos and anyone can copy and paste them which is scary, but its the way we’ve chosen to share our story with our friends and family. Its such a personal choice, just be aware and try to keep your kiddos and others as safe as you can by making thoughtful choices and staying aware of the changing digital world.
Because predators don’t know where schools are or what a big yellow bus is for.
Both of my children (boy and girl) are red-haired and blue-eyed. From the moment they were born, I was warned how their unique features would make them more appealing to child predators, especially sex traffickers. I have always posted their pictures online, even with identifying features like their school name or wearing their sports jerseys. My daughter has had a Facebook in which she listed the school she went to, since she was 10. They are now 16 and 13 and you know how many close calls we’ve had? 0. Zero. Zilch.
Spreading fear only spreads fear. When you are afraid of the boogeyman hiding in the shadows, you miss the actual threat to your children: People you already know and trust.
I find it very difficult to believe that a predator will target your child just because they saw them online. Children are everywhere. This kind of paranoid mindset will do more to harm the kids than help them. I encourage all of you to read the blog http://www.freerangekids.com
Hi
I found you post very informative and interesting
Happy Posting
Please remind ur kids if a car stops near them while waiting for the bus… to run… A child’s first instinct is to see what the adult wants.. Just remind them so it will be fresh in their minds…..
Also, tell children that an adult will never ask a child for “help”, they’ll ask another adult. If they are approached by an adult asking for help, they should run and find another adult.
Thanks so much for this blog. I often tell my kids not to do this because pictures on the internet are silly and can be used for bad purposes. Besides, my kids use this source https://studymoose.com/ to do homework (they tell me they get inspiration from there), but I notice how they buy essays done, I forbid them this, but they continue anyway, to me this looks just like you would have dropped the lessons, but they say this is much more effective and easy. I believe that if children use these kinds of sources in the future, we will raise a bad generation, but time will show.
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