Back to School Privacy Tips

It is that time of year once again, kids are heading back to school, sports is starting back up and everyone is posting on social media. It is in our nature as parents to be proud of our kids and want to celebrate them in any way that we can. I know, been there and done that, and still doing it to an extent. It turns into a different situation when they get old enough and tell you not to post their picture on social media! Here are some tips to consider when posting about our children, especially when they are too young to have their own accounts.

SOCIAL MEDIA

When positing to social media, consider these general tips:

1. Is what I am posting going to embarrass my child in the future?

2. Will what I am posting hurt my child in the future when applying to colleges and jobs?

3. Am I giving out too much information?

Yes, colleges and future employers will search social media accounts to find out what type of person they are considering for enrollment in college and jobs. If the wrong kind of information shows up, that could hurt their chances. It is also a good idea to talk to your children about this so that as they get older, they can make the best decisions about their social media post. Even if a post is deleted, it can still be found.

BACK TO SCHOOL TIPS

It is great capturing these memories, heading off to their first/last day of school each year, events during the school year and grades/diplomas/certificates that they receive for a job well done. Whether it is K-12 or college, these images will last a lifetime. However, when you post on social media, you may be sharing too much personal information. Yes, most of us have our accounts where no one but family and close friends can see the photos, but you have no control over those people sharing on their timeline. Predators and scammers are always watching, whether you know it or not and can be collecting that sensitive information. Here are some items, you might want to keep private.

• Child's name

• Age

• School

• Grade

• School name

• Favorite subject

• Favorite color

• Favorite food

• Sports they play

• Photos of diplomas

• Photos of certificates of achievement

• What is the background of the picture? Car tag number? House number? Street name? Bus Number?

Why do I suggest not posting images of diplomas and certificates? There is information on those documents that can aid a scammer in stealing identities. Dates of graduation, school/college names, degrees, subjects. All of this information can be used in security questions on website's such as banking and credit sites or social media accounts in case you forget your password. If you post these pictures, that gives scammers the information they need to potentially access those accounts.

I am not suggesting to not take the photo that has all that information in it for your personal collection, because we all have them. Take those pictures, but use a generic picture for posting on social media, like the one's below. NOTE: the images below were taken off the internet from a basic search for "Back to School Images". They are not of anyone that I know.

Sports Tips

Our kids might play sports. If your child is in Little League and plays fall and spring sports, here are some tips that you might want to talk to the coach about.

1. No name or last name on the back of their jerseys. Only their number. This will have to be discussed with the other parents and the coaches, but express your wishes. We actually practiced this when my son was playing little league.

2. Don't put stickers on your windows on your car with your child's jersey number or name.

3. Don't put magnets with your child's jersey number on your vehicle.

4. Don't put "Joe's Mom/Dad" on the back of your team parent shirt, just their number.

You may be asking why?! Believe me, I did this to until I realized all the information it gave out. The reason you don't want to do this is the child's first name on the back of their jersey would give anyone just enough information to present familiarity to the child. If a stranger approached a child and called them by their first name, they would think that they are a family member or friend that they had not met. Same thing with their name on the parent shirt.

On the same note, if you have your child's name and jersey number on your car, it would give off familiarity if a stranger approached them and called them by name. The less information out there for your children, the better!

Ball fields and gyms are crowded and busy and children can get separated from their parents. Use these tips on the field and in the gym to give them just a little more privacy.

Always remember, the best protection is to talk to your children as they get old enough to understand that if a stranger approaches them to have them search you out immediately. It is a scary world we live in but with the correct information and plans in place, it can be a little less scary.

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Elizabeth Shaw is the owner of Elegant Photo Solutions, LLC, a Certified Photo Manager/Privacy Advocate/Legacy Preservation Specialist through The Photo Managers and a FOREVER Executive Ambassador. It is her goal to help families preserve their photos and documents for future generations so that they will know who their families were and where they came from. You can contact her by emailing elegphosol@gmail.com.