There’s been a lot in the news lately about the way our social media profiles can affect not just our own privacy but the privacy of the people that we love. This is especially true with our children. While becoming pregnant and having a baby may be the most exciting events in our lives, we must remember that these are also 
events in the lives of our children, who in this day and age, may very well live their entire lives with pictures of them on Facebooks.
When you think about it, the photos of our children we upload to Facebook (in many cases even before they are born, in the form of ultrasound pictures) are technically owned by Facebook, and that is something that many are finding difficult to reconcile with themselves. Of course, we all want to share our joy with the world, and in moderation this is fine, but far more from being a helpful site that provides eerily appropriate ads for maternity swimwear during pregnancy, Facebook is also a multi-billion dollar company that has the right to change its privacy settings whenever it likes. As such, here are some guidelines that might help you share your photos while ensuring they remain as private as possible.
Privacy Settings
Take the time to understand Facebook’s privacy settings. Some people are unaware that through changes to Facebook’s settings their accounts are actually less secure than they once were, so it is your responsibility to check your settings and ensure that only those you select can view your posts, your photos and other interactions. In the privacy settings tab, Facebook will prompt you to select who has access to various types of information. You should always select ‘just friends;, or to be even more secure, choose the ‘customise’ option and hand-pick those that you would like to see your photos. This means that your precious baby photos can only be seen by those that are important to you.
If You Wouldn’t Want A Stranger to See, Don’t Put it Up
This is a great rule to live your life by when interacting with social networking sites, and you might find that it prevents you from making mistakes that will come back to bite you. There are so many stories of people announcing to close friends that they are pregnant only to have those friends break the news on Facebook before they are able to. Not only does this steal your thunder, but it can be awkward if your employees or boss is on Facebook and hasn’t yet been informed. Make sure you are clear about others respecting your privacy on Facebook and Twitter as well.
Of course we all want to share the most special thing in our lives with our social networks. In fact, social media can also be a great source of help and advice–in some ways a kind of virtual mother’s group, with other new mums in your network providing tips on everything from where to buy the best maternity wear to which teething toy their kids can’t live without. Just remember that you are responsible not only for your own privacy, but for the privacy of your little one, who will one day be old enough to appreciate the fact that you respected their feelings as well.