Parents on Mumsnet warned over sharing pictures of their kids online - but not everyone agrees

Parents have been cautioned about sharing photos of their children on social media, sparking a debate that has divided opinions.

The discussion emerged on Mumsnet, a popular online platform where parents exchange advice and discuss various topics. The controversy began when a mother queried whether it was acceptable to post images of her children online.

"I occasionally post pics of my kids on FB and instagram," the mother shared. "Maybe once or twice a year. I occasionally do stories too. Maybe 3 to 4 times a year."

She rationalised her decision by stating, "I decided that if it wasn't too often, it would be fine. Some people never post at all or some blur out the faces. Others post daily."

She then invited other forum users to share their views, reports the Mirror.

A police worker joined the conversation, expressing a strict stance against posting any pictures of their children. "I don't post any pictures of my DC (dear child)," they commented.

"I work for the police dealing with child exploitation though, so I am much more alert to the misuse of pictures than others are. I would also hate it if someone put pictures of me up without my consent, and that is in effect what someone is doing whenever they post a photo of a child."

However, not everyone agreed with this cautious approach. Another user mentioned, "I post pics of my kids. One of my cousins posted lots of themselves before child was born and since (6 years ago? ) they post nothing of selves or child. I am curious how that turns out."

A third person expressed concern: "Children shouldn't be put online. They can't tell you what photos or posts they like or approve of. What information they don't mind you sharing with the world."

"Imagine if every detail of your childhood was online for the world to see? Would you be happy that your friends and work colleagues had seen a video of your first wee on the potty? Or a video of you having a tantrum over something that your mum thought was funny at the time? ".

However, another individual countered this view, stating: "I don't think my children are going to mind a pic of them with their birthday cake... it's not a big deal to post a pic with a birthday cake. I doubt they're going to lose out on jobs when they're older because of their 2nd birthday pic online."

Trevor Cooke, an online privacy expert at EarthWeb, previously highlighted to Yahoo!

News the risks associated with posting images of children online. "Even with strict privacy settings, these images could be stolen, copied, altered, or spread forever across the internet, meaning you completely lose control of who sees your child and what they do with their image," he explained.

He also warned that scammers have exploited children's identities to commit fraud. "Scammers have even taken out loans in the name of children under the age of five ruining their credit before they're even old enough to use money."