More people may struggle with the dilemma “should I share my kids on social media” after they have kids as most stances on life shift almost daily and knowing what is right is typically a gut decision. I have a platform in which I show my life… basically everything about it. I’m not an interior designer, a fitness guru, or a fashion icon, I’m a lifestyle blogger. And to hide the biggest and more important part of my life, would feel like a lie, wouldn’t it? To neglect showing the highs lows, struggles, challenges, joys, and tears I go through on the daily would feel like I was neglecting the most important part of myself. I feel as though you all are not here because I renovated my kitchen, or I have a hilarious and ridiculous husband, but because you follow every part of me including the little piece of me that we created.
Especially now that we are in the early years of Pia’s life, we live, breathe, and think about Pia all day, every day. We may start a fitness challenge and skip a day’s work out or decide to opt out of our healthy meal prep but one thing we never skip or opt out of is Pia. She’s a part of our everyday lives in the biggest possible way, so to not show that, well then what is left to show of us. I want to express this new stage of my life as a mom. A happy, crazy, emotional, silly mom.
I would also take the stance that it’s a sort of pride involved when I post photos or videos. Much like you would when you renovate a room or create a beautifully aesthetic acai bowl. You want to put it on display for the world to see so that others will recognize your good work and love it as much as you do. I guess this is a reason I continue to do it but not really the reason I do it. When I was younger I was a lot more “sure” of what my future self would and wouldn’t do, displaying photos of my kids was one of them. My absoluteness in myself “I will never do something” and to never be unwavering is just not our human nature and easier said than done.
We’ve been able to create this platform at no toll to our family… so far. We aren’t spending hours every weekend shooting photos of my daughter, changing outfits, and driving all around the city to find an “Instagram worthy” spot to take a picture. If we’re out and about and we remember to catch a cute pic of us, then awesome. If we spend an entire weekend in an amazing place and forget to take a single photo, then that’s okay too! We would never sign on to do a sponsored post or paid partnership with something or someone that didn’t line up with our family values and doesn’t have a positive impact. I’m sure later down the road we may face different or bigger challenges but right now, our family is not in the spot light. We don’t have people stop and recognize us every day (only that one time), we are still in the realm of normalcy for our family.
Maybe my mindset will change over time as she gets older or the world gets colder. It’s so hard for me to justify “don’t post your kids” when I’ve been an open book during this entire aspect of my life; and I’ve learned SO much from the women who’ve done the same. The biggest objection I receive is that they are their own people and only they should dictate whether they are shown publicly. I often think that I’ll ask Pia (when she’s able to actually respond to me in 100% English) if I can post her. I would respect her wishes. It’s 100% a personal decision but I feel as though the pressure comes from everyone around us. What sounds normal to us, is completely outlandish to others. Would you believe that shielding Pia away from the world would take away the opportunity to teach her about it? Since we all as adults use technology in our daily lives more than we’d ever admit, maybe it’s better to teach our children how to use the realms of technology responsibly rather than adhering to a “no phone, no social media” policy.
Here’s another thing to ponder. The age of social media scares me despite my active presence. I had my first social media platform when I left for college. My brain was pretty much fully developed by then and I had a pretty good handle on time management. I’m afraid with the standard age for kids receiving cell phones and creating social media accounts is getting younger and younger and I fear that Matthew and I will be facing challenges we never had to go through as kids. I can see scrolling replacing reading and selfies replacing coloring books. I read about the #WaitUntil18th movement and it’s something I feel strongly about now, but may change under circumstances later. But I’ve got a good while before that begins.
I believe my opinion could change as I get older, wiser, more informed of the world. Just a year ago I told myself skipping a meal was detrimental to my body and would never do it; that was instilled in me from society. Then I read a few books and researched some journals and case studies and now I practice a regular intermittent fast every day. So my life goes through phases, that evolve and this very topic may evolve later on in life, but for now, my life is yours to view, including our little Pia. So if you were me, would you?
Why do you choose to share or not share your kids on social media?
P.S. Want to read more about parenting tips? Or read about how we’re doing as parents.
