ETEMESI: Stop over-posting photos of your kids
I love social media hence I always feel the need to sanitize it. It is 2019 and some behaviors online just need to stop. I’ll address some of them when the time is right but one behavior that needs emergency regulation is parents over-posting photos of their kids.
Posting once in a while is okay but there are people who keep showing off their babies all the time like the babies are trophies or something. It’s like the baby is a Nobel Peace prize or a Grammy award that the parent has just been awarded.
They post their kids photos each and every day, right on time, you’d think the kids are news bulletins. There are those who even began before the child was born by posting the ultrasound picture. Come on people.
WELL CRAFTED CAPTIONS
It’s quite common to bump into these kinds of photos every time you log into Instagram or Facebook. The captions are usually well crafted with phrases such as “my little munchkin” or ‘I am out here twinning with my mini-me.”
As you are busy over-posting the photos, chances are that you are not even aware how kid is really doing. If it’s a baby, you are not aware if they are sick or not. If it’s a grown child, you are not aware if they are being bullied in school or if they are happy with life at home.
I am pretty sure that if most babies could talk, they would say “toa picha yangu hapo.” And if most kids that are older could face up to their parents, they would echo the same sentiments too.
As adults, we all like to the post the best possible photos of ourselves. Some of you take 50 photos before you find the perfect one to post (Tunawajua).
If you have a child that is slightly older and knows about the internet, did you stop to think if the photos you keep posting are photos that they really like? They might feel that a specific picture you posted isn’t one that they would like to be out there for everyone to see. They might feel embarrassed or ashamed but they won’t have the guts to tell you.
ROLE MODEL
As a parent, you won’t be judged by how many photos of your child you posted. You will be judged by the kind of person that child turns out to be when they morph into an adult. Good parenting involves instilling good behaviour in them, feeding them, ensuring they have proper education and being a role model that they can look up to.
A former neighbour of mine used to post photos of her baby girl on Facebook all the time and she would still smoke weed in front of that kid. I mean, what kind of parenting is that?
I hate to break it down to you but no one wants to see pictures of your child all the time. You might think your kid is adorable and worthy of flaunting and you might be right. However, people don’t really care. You are not Kim Kardashian or Bahati.
Give your child the opportunity to grow up in privacy. Stop the excessive digital documentation and just focus on being a good parent okay?