I didn’t have kids when I first started blogging. And once I had my first one, I didn’t really even think twice before sharing pictures of him online. I was so excited to share pictures and stories of his daily activities, new milestones, the good, the bad, and everything in between. I loved using this place as an online blueprint of our lives, something we could look back on years down the road and relive all of the fond memories we created.
But then something changed. I’m not entirely sure when I started to feel differently or when I started to share less pictures of my kids here, but I just made the decision one day. I continued to blog about them but I became selective about the types of pictures I included. If possible, I avoided head on shots; I would only post pictures of them from the side. I also tried to avoid solo photographs and only post ones that included myself or other people. And while sometimes there are exceptions or I need to post pictures of them for a sponsored post, I try not to if it’s not necessary.
This was a personal decision. There are so many bloggers that do post pictures of their kids on their blogs and there is nothing wrong with it. I love seeing them! And sometimes I do want to share more and wonder if I will regret not sharing more when I look back here one day. But at this point in time and for me personally, I began to feel uneasy doing it. Was it safe? What would they think years down the road if they searched their name? Was it fair to do it without their consent?
I don’t know. I don’t know the answers to these questions so I just went with my gut. And my gut was telling me to keep majority of their pictures off the blog . I still talk about them and include tidbits from our lives, which obviously include them. I love my kids more than anything and as a work-at-home-mom, my day obviously revolves around them. But this is just a choice I made, a choice that no one could make for me or that anyone else had to follow or agree with.
I sometimes get comments and questions from people that read my blog or follow me on Instagram. “We miss seeing your kids! We want to see more pictures of your kids!” And while I’m super flattered and wish I could just post a billion pictures of them (because they’re pretty damn cute if you ask me :)) it’s just not something I feel comfortable with. Moving forward, I’m definitely going to start including more posts involving them. I’ll just be getting creative on how I share pictures of them
(If you do want to see more of them, come follow along on Snapchat @samantha_show…)
So if you’ve been wondering why you don’t see too much of them on the blog or why they’re never looking in the pictures I do post, now you know. This isn’t meant to scare anyone who does post pictures of their kids on their blog or social media and it’s certainly not meant to come off as judgmental. Because as I said, this was 100% a personal choice and no one can make that choice for you except for you.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts! Do you share pictures of your kids on your blog or social media channels? Why or why not?