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Leaving another human being alone with your baby is already hard, and obviously your babysitter should will have his or her cell phone within reach throughout, since unexpected, unusual emergencies happen. But how they use their phone is an important conversation to have. Here’s how to talk to your sitter about your child and Facebook without sounding insane or overcontrolling:
In This Post:
Rule #1: Respect Baby Autonomy
Your baby is tiny person that you are responsible for, and while you might respect their tiny human status and avoid posting anything online until they can tell you they want to, your babysitter might not. Asking them to keep pictures of the most adorable child alive off the internet might be rough for them, but if it’s explained as protecting their privacy and yours, it’s importance can’t be missed. Your baby deserves more to have it’s personhood protected until they can decide what goes online and what doesn’t.
Rule #2: No GeoTagging
Your babysitter is set and solid. They won’t go posting pictures of your adorable children on the internet — but they’ve geotagged their instagram post and added a hashtag homealone. Your heart skips about forty beats a minute, and your mind is running through situations where thieves in your area are scanning the #homealone in your area waiting for someone to pounce on.Geotags and even unassuming things like snapchat map can create a tracking method that opens up your home to attacks. You’ve had a hard enough timekeeping literal pests out, let alone a creeper who knows your babysitter is home alone and where to find them in that state. Geotagging is a personal risk they might take (or not realize they are taking) that you should clarify for them. Location settings can be shared with apps without active consent, so turning it off should be a must.
Rule #3: No Names or Locations
Did you leave little Geoffrey Smith at home with your babysitter at 231 Nondescript Dr.? Was that exact description just uploaded onto Instagram? Leaving parts of your child’s life offline, especially when they aren’t with you can be significantly safer. Does the world need to know your child’s name? Even neighborhood hints like “Eastern Heights” could be enough for some terrible online-offline stalking to get started. A safe digital environment for your child is your responsibility to maintain as a parent.
Can You Say This Without Being Terrible?
Oh heck yes! You are a great parent for bringing up concerns about your child’s privacy. If you don’t want to sound super crazy, instead of slapping their phone out of their hand when they arrive, talking about why it’s important to you will be helpful. Most sane and rational people (one of which, I hope, is whom you’ve chosen to watch your children) understand the idea of tiny personhood and would be willing to respect your baby’s security and privacy if asked.You are responsible for protecting your child’s digital privacy. That means sitting down with your babysitter and explaining why you want no pics, no geotagging, or name/location hints spread online. It’s for safety, it’s for privacy, and it’s about protecting your children; plus, unless it’s talked about, it’s not thought about. Take initiative and speak with your babysitter today.