When Your Kid Says NO To Social Media

We parents LOVE sharing the funny, adorable and irritating stuff our kids do, right?  And now we can blast their sweet little faces ALL over the Internet for the world to see.  While I have always been pretty careful of what I choose to share about my family and my child on my personal pages, I didn't hold the reigns quite so tightly on my other ones.  Meaning- I shared pretty much everything with the fans, within reason...

Recently the kiddo has asked me not to take his photo and not to post it on social media.  He's at that age where he's embarrassed or perhaps self conscious so he's been quite vocal about NOT sharing.  Which makes total sense when you really think about it....no way would I have wanted my "awkward" years to be blasted all over for the world to witness.  So I very much get it.  I do.

With that being said, this has been hard for me.  No joke, hard...because I think he's funny and adorable and that there's real value in sharing our story and our journey.  But here's the thing- I signed up for this.  He didn't.  So it's been a real eye opener for me and I'm doing my very best to respect his wishes.  If you're a fan over on the Facebook page, you might have even noticed that there's been less "kiddo" around.  Less stories about him, less pictures, less "convos in the car"- just less.

While it is my complete intention to share an HONEST and REAL glimpse of this homeschooling life- it has never been my goal to disrespect my family.  Kiddo included.  So for now, there's less.  I'm restructuring a bit what I share with you all and asking his permission a lot more before posting and sharing.  And y'all- most times he says NO.  So I just keep those adorable little kiddo moments to myself and hope that someday again he'll allow me to share and brag and get my MOMMY on.

For all of you wondering how to navigate this, here's some basic questions to ask yourself before posting anything about your children.

• Would my child be embarrassed or upset by what I'm sharing?
• Am I sharing something that would jeopardize their safety?
• Is this appropriate?
• What is my motive behind sharing this?
• Am I sharing something too private or sacred?
• Did I ask permission?

Moving forward I will do my best to remember these questions.  While I am convinced their is SO MUCH GOOD STUFF about the kiddo that is worth sharing, I am not willing to compromise my relationship and trust with him over something so trivial as social media.  It's simply not worth it.

Good luck to you as you navigate this path and please remember, listen to your children and respect their wishes.  They may be kids, but they are people too.