Before I began posting about Amelia, I had to think about whether I believed it would be a good idea for me to use her real name, to post photos of her, etc. After all, on a public blog anyone can stumble upon your writing. Anyone.
But, I came to the conclusion that a blog would be the best way to keep friends and family up-to-date with our little pumpkin (she will kill me for calling her that in 10 years, I’m sure…but for now it is just endearing.) I definitely do not have enough “followers” to worry about nasty comments or criticism about how we are raising our daughter or questions about why I post pics and tell stories about my family. Nonetheless, I try to have some sort of balance between maintaining our privacy and sharing enough so that the blog is actually interesting to read (or at least to look at the pics/video).
There is fascinating debate going on right now at momversations about whether moms should share details about their kids online (Marie-Eve weighed in too). Many of the moms say that if their kids ask them not to post something, or want them to stop discussing their lives, they would. My question is – what about all the information/storytelling you’ve done about them up to that point? Will kids embrace it and love the fact that there is a record of their exploits growing up, or will they hate it and their parents as a result? I am still not sure where I stand on the issue, or if my opinion will change as Amelia gets older and more entertaining.
I also thought about the pros and cons of doing such a blog but the pluses are evident. The minus may be exactly what you said about someone stumbling across the information, but these days with the Internet, there is so much out there that this is always a possibility.
The idea of the blog enables sharing never before possible. I think of my Mum who lived in Mauritius. How absolutely delighted she would have been to follow the progress of Ian, Paul and Robin had such a tool been available when she was alive! Instead we had to use traditional paper letters and photos and delays of 10 days on average. One thought is to print this blog regularly as there is always greater difficulty saving electronic forms of information for posterity! I am sure Amelia will appreciate this as she grows up, pumpkin, munchkin and all. :)