So this is actually quite a controversial topic, and is not a recent phenomenon as surprising as that may sound.  Certainly with the prevalence of social media and photo sharing sites this has become a bigger issue, but since the advent of picture taking parents feel it is their right to take whatever picture of their kid that they want.  Some kids who later grow up and see these pictures either feel violated or disrespected.  I certainly have my fair share of baby photos or toddler photos where I am naked running around like there is no tomorrow.  My parents – as many others – found that adorable and the simple idea of a photo of that moment is purely innocent.  For me I don’t have an issue with that, in fact I found it funny.  For others that are more sensitive or self-conscious that may be an issue.

So how do parent draw the line, I find myself reducing the number of photos I put of my kids.  This is partly because I’m lazy, or I don’t want to inundate my contacts with what I might consider as adorable (they might find blah), and increasingly because of privacy, rights and distribution issues associated with photos that get posted up.  I don’t know how my kids will react in the future as they grow up, but at the same time I would like to share my daily joys (of which my kids make up 90%) with those I know – why shouldn’t I be able to share this happiness?  I guess it all depends on what you think is appropriate keeping in mind that there are different scales.

For example naked pictures are a big no-no and there are many federal and enforcement laws that make it crime whether it’s your kid or not.  So those are a definite “NO” for posting up irrespective of how tasteful you think they are, new born babies might be an exception but better to keep those in the private family albums than for all to see.

You should also remember that you want to respect your kids, as small as they are.  They are still human beings with feelings, and despite what you might thing, they are not monkeys here to dance for you at your will (cue Dance monkey song).  It’s nice to put them in awkward outfits, but you don’t want to humiliate them – after all they are a piece of you and you are their caretaker, the one who is supposed to look after them.

Plenty of other ways to take photos of them, either artistically at certain close up angles, or with a larger group or context so that it’s not just about them but about the moment they are in.  It’s a fine line and I wonder how others view this topic as it becomes a more prevalent issue in our social media age?