To Post or Not to Post? The Great Sharenting Debate

First steps, first days at school, birthday cakes and beach holidays. For many parents, sharing family moments online feels as natural as putting a photo on the fridge. But as today’s children grow up with a digital footprint they never chose, more families are asking whether it is time to think twice before pressing post.

What is sharenting?

The word “sharenting”, a blend of sharing and parenting, describes the now familiar habit of posting photos, videos and updates about our children on social media. It is easy to see why it has become so widespread. For grandparents living far away, a steady stream of pictures can be a lifeline, and for parents it is a way of celebrating milestones and connecting with friends going through the same stage of life.

The scale of it can be surprising, though. A report by the Children’s Commissioner for England found that by the age of 13, parents will have posted an average of 1,300 photos and videos of their child on social media.

Where the concerns lie

Online safety organisation Internet Matters points to several risks that parents may not consider in the moment. A single post can reveal more than intended, such as a child’s name, their school or even the road they live on. Details shared over the years can also be pieced together by scammers to guess passwords and security questions, or to impersonate a child. Once an image has been posted, there is also the possibility of it being copied and shared on sites that parents would never want it to appear on.

Then there is the question of how children themselves will feel. A photo that seems sweet or funny to a parent could feel embarrassing to a teenager, and could even be picked up by bullies. Very young children can’t give informed consent, and Internet Matters notes that posting without asking can affect trust as children get older.

Finding a middle ground

For most families the answer is not necessarily to stop sharing altogether, but to share more thoughtfully. Internet Matters suggests starting with privacy settings so you are in control of who can see your photos, and considering a private group for close friends and family. It is worth checking that everyone in your network is someone you actually know, and taking a second look at each image before posting to make sure it doesn’t give away personal details such as a house number or a school name.

If other children appear in a photo, it is always better to ask their parents first. And as your own children grow, asking their permission before posting about them is a simple way to show that their feelings count.

A question for every family

There is no single right answer to the sharenting debate, and every family will draw the line in a different place. Some parents choose to keep their children’s faces off social media entirely, while others are happy to share freely with a small, trusted circle. What matters most is making a conscious choice rather than an automatic one, and remembering that the little person in the picture will one day have opinions of their own about the story we have told online.

Ollēdi © 2026

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