Parenting blogs are one of the fastest-growing and most popular blogging niches. Like any blogger, online safety is always important, but safety should be taken even more seriously when children are involved. Here’s how to keep you and your children safe online as a parenting blogger.
Don’t Share Your Address
If you are regularly being sent products for you and your children to review, think about using an address service, so you can receive parcels without sharing your real address with a stranger. Set up an address and virtual mail that functions like a PO Box to hide your genuine address. You’ll be able to accept products, but collect them later at your own convenience or have them forwarded on to your home.
Think About What You Post
The easiest way to keep your children safe is not to share photos of them online at all. Of course, if you’re writing about parenting, that can be hard. If you do share pictures of your children, consider not showing their faces, at least until they’re old enough to understand where the pictures are being used.
Never share photos of your children that show the name or badge of their school. Check your pictures for anything that could give away where you live or they go to school, like street name signs, school notice boards and even the number plate of your car.
Consider watermarking your images to prevent them from being used elsewhere. This isn’t foolproof, but can help.
Don’t post pictures during bathtime or of your children in swimsuits. This can attract unwanted attention to your blog and put your children at risk.
Talk To Your Children
Have ongoing conversations with your children about online safety. If they understand how to keep safe, they can be an active part of the blog in a much safer way. Teach them about using technology and social media in a safe way, and show them the measures you use to use social media in a responsible way.
Hide Your Location
Make sure you have turned off geotagging before posting any photos. The metadata of photos can make it easy for people to track where you go during the day, meaning someone could easily find your usual coffee shop, your home or your children’s school.
If you’re out in public, consider waiting until you’ve left the area before posting any photos, unless you’re somewhere large and busy like a theme park. This stops people from seeing where you are and coming to your location.
Consider Using Pseudonyms
Think about not using your children’s real names. This protects their identity a little, and also means that if in later life, someone Googles their name, your blog won’t come up. This offers them more privacy and reduces the risk of potential future employers being put off.
You could use either a false name or a nickname. For example, YouTuber Louise Pentland originally referred to her daughter Darcy as ‘Baby Glitter’ on her YouTube channel.
Question:
Are you a blogger? Do you follow any of these tips?
Cheers!
Candy
