Tiffany Raiford
Parenting does not come with a rule book, a set of instructions or any sort of “this is how you do it,” which is why it’s something we all do so differently. Every child, every parent and every family differs greatly and what works for me may or may not also work for you. Perhaps you think my method of parenting is a bit too much for you or it’s not enough for you. Perhaps I feel the same about you. We are all parents, so we know that it’s a tough job with great reward but oftentimes nowhere near enough appreciation. And that’s what makes it more difficult. We all wake up every single morning and do the best we possibly can and it’s not always enough. But what we should be doing is supporting one another in this journey instead of judging, bashing and mom-shaming; and this happens more on social media than anywhere else. With that in mind, we’ve decided to go through and figure out which 10 Facebook etiquette rules parents should follow as often as possible when on the internet. Trust us; it’s pretty important stuff.
Don’t Post Incriminating Photos
Your kids, as much as it pains you, will grow up eventually. Even if they are small now, posting incriminating photos of them when they first wake in the morning or when they’re making horrible faces is not going to amuse them at some point. It’s just good manners to make sure you post nothing that’s not flattering so that your kids don’t end up hating you. Yes, your goal in life is to ensure your kids are embarrassed sufficiently thanks to you, but not online.
Don’t Post Personal Information
A photo of the kids in front of your new house complete with the street name and your house number, updates that you’re in the Bahamas vacation-ing it up while your kids are home alone, or anything else personal such as this is a bad, bad, bad idea. You never know who is watching. No matter how private you think your page, it’s never private enough. You can have a private page but someone else comments on something you post and suddenly all that person’s friends can see your status update or photo.
Be Private
Your account should be so private that the military can’t get in. I mean, they can get in if they want to, but you should enact all privacy settings. You want no one to see your photos except those on your friend list, you want no one to be able to tag you in a photo without your approval and you want no one to be able to access your account without your permission.
Don’t Friend Your Kids’ Friends
Your kid’s friends are there friends. Don’t be that creepy mom who is friends with all the kids in the school. There are a few things wrong with this one. The first is that it’s a bit embarrassing for your kids if their mom is friend requesting all their friends, who definitely don’t want to be your friends. Two, it’s a bit creepy for an adult to be friends with a bunch of kids. However, there are some parents who have a tight-knit group of their own friends and their kids are friends, and if the kids want to be your friend and send you a request, you can use your own discretion.
Don’t Post Nude Photos of Babies
It might be so super cute to post a photo of your new baby all nude in the bathtub so that all your friends and family can see Jr.’s first bath. It is a life moment, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, like we said before, you never know who is on your page. There are creepy, disgusting, disturbing people in this world and these kinds of photos are just too alluring for them.
Don’t Make Your Kids’ Photos your Profile Photo
You certainly want your kids’ photos to be your profile picture or your cover photo, but resist the urge. Make them generic or make them of you. These are photos the entire world has access to no matter how private your page, and that means that you are going to experience some serious issues when it comes to strangers. You don’t want to give them access to your kids – or have people stealing their photos.
Don’t Announce Your Kids’ Good News First
This applies only to the parents of older kids. If your son or daughter was recently accepted into their dream university, got their driver license or whatever good news happened, don’t be the first to announce it. Let your child have his or her moment in the spotlight before you go making it all about you and what you see fit.
Don’t Vague-Book
“I’m so disappointed right now,” “Life just got really good,” and other statuses that tell the world something without telling the world anything are really annoying, and they can have a pretty big impact on your kids. For one, they could make your kids worry. Kids are more intuitive and intelligent than you think, and they know far more than they let on. This means that you are going to have to leave it off the internet or talk to your kids so that they don’t worry or panic.
Don’t use Facebook like it’s a Doctor
So your toddler has some questionable looking spots or a bad rash. It happens. It happens to all of us; we all have kids like this. However, that does not mean you need to get online and post a photo of your child for all to see asking the internet what on earth your child might have. Not only will this cause needless worry in your mind, it’s annoying to others. Your Facebook friends are not pediatricians, so don’t try to pretend that they are.
Don’t Post any TMI Photos or Comments
Kids are not as strong as we like to think they are. They’re going through a precarious age at this moment in time, and your idea of a hilarious comment or photo could be their idea of social ruin. Don’t make this age more difficult on your kids than it already is.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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