A child exploitation expert has warned parents not to post about their kids on social media - especially their full names and photos of them in nappies. Sarah Adams, 38, said children are "unwilling participants" who can't give consent to what their parents post about them online.
She said parents should avoid sharing pictures that their children would be embarrassed about in the future. The stay-at-home mum said she would never share info about her two young children online - even on private accounts.
Sarah runs a social media page called 'mum.uncharted' where she researches child exploitation and how to be safe on social media. She said: "Personally, I do not share my children on social media.
"My husband is an extremely private person and he has taught me the value of privacy. You have a lot of power when you are in control of your private life.
"I think whether you are sharing privately or publicly, private is always the way to go. With a private account, you can curate your followers with people that you know and trust.
"When you are sharing things publicly, you do not want full legal names or your kids out there, neither their birthdays, school, addresses - any identifiable information. We have to remember that children are unwilling participants in all of this.
"They cannot give consent to have their image or information about them being used on the internet. When it comes to images you are sharing, there are some big no-nos that you don't want out there.
"You don't want to be posting images of your children nude or semi-nude, in nappies, in the bathtub or on the potty. Sadly there are individuals who look for those images specifically, online safety experts have told us how predators look for those photos.
"When I think about that I think about family vloggers and influencers who are monetizing their children while invading their privacy and online safety."
When it comes to children on social media, Sarah said it is "no surprise" kids want to use the internet. She said: "One thing I have done is remove YouTube as an option for my children.
"I find that the content there can get pretty concerning, pretty quickly, if parents are not watching. There is no surprise that our kids want to be on social media at a younger age.
"What we need to do as parents is band together and create new social norms and all say we are not gonna give our children a smartphone until a certain age. We need to let kids be kids."
SARAH'S TOP TIPS
1. Don't post identifiable information of your children
2. Don't post compromising pictures of your children that would embarrass them in the future
Sarah can be found on TikTok: @mom.uncharted
