I'm a full-time mummy

I know, being a mummy blogger, it is really not easy to secure everything. Back when I first started blogging 6 years ago, I didn't know better. I happily shared pictures of our kiddos online and  on my FB page though still mindful to not show anything or give any clues to where we stay, work, go for outing etc. But after reading more and more cases of the dangers of putting childrens pictures online, I have toned down way way a lot, even for product reviews I try not to show full face of our kiddos unless absolutely necessary. Of course there are those old pictures I have posted online but moving forward, I have vowed to keep our privacy as tight as possible.

Now as parents, it is horrifying to read articles where pedophiles get hold of childrens pictures, videos and God knows what else they do with the pictures. It doesn't help when you see pictures of children innocently posted on your Facebook newsfeed, where your friends or relatives happily share (or unknowingly being tagged).

I believe that if you are serious to protect your child, we have to tightened up our privacy settings as much as possible. I'm talking about social media here, specifically Facebook okay? Things that you can do:

1. Start with your own Facebook profile settings

• Go to your profile settings and look for Privacy. Go through the items inside and make sure your privacy settings is up to date.

• You can also go to your Privacy Settings, look under Timeline and Tagging settings, on the 2nd item 'Who can see things on my timeline?' see the first item 'Review what other people see on your timeline' click on the View As and you will be able to view your profile under the pretense of someone out of your FB network.
  

2. Go through your Facebook album settings

Go to each and every one of your photo albums on your FB profile and make sure the settings are correct. Remove the check sign in the 'Friends of those tagged' entry. If you leave this one checked, when you tagged your friends in any picture in the album, their friends can also see the pictures even though they are not on your FB friend list.

3. Check other Facebook page settings

This is a bit more work but important. If your child attends any school, classes, clubs, outings etc that have their own Facebook pages, make sure you check their page. Some of them likes to upload pictures of their students / participants and shared on their page, not knowing the dangers of doing so. I have personally seen photos of children of my friends, relatives, ex-colleagues appearing on my newsfeed because their parents have been tagged by the schools / classes / clubs etc. It is so easy to look up the children if someone has the intention to do so and know what clues to look for. School badges are prominently shown. Contact details are easily found on the FB page info. Name tags can be easily read. Creepy right?

4. Check through your friends postings

• I would also advise you to housekeep your FB friends list. Only share pictures on FB with people you trusted.
  

• And if a friend or relative posts photos of your child or your family on FB and you don't feel comfortable about that, ask them to take the pictures down or to blur off your child's face or your family details. 

• You might also put in settings to notify you if your name has been tagged in a post or picture by your friend or relatives. I normally remove my name from being tagged and also not shown posts on my timeline unless I find it important to share the posts that I have been tagged on.

  

5. Start from yourself

• If you want to post picture of your kiddos, try to blur out other info.
  

• Ask permission from other parents if their child is in the picture as well, but I personally feel blurring or cropping the picture is another option as well.
  

• Do not simply join or like any FB pages unless you are familiar with their policies.
  

• Do not simply accept friends requests on FB unless you know or meet the person before. Remember that once you have accepted someone into your circle, they will be able to see your details.

• If someone from your FB circle asked you questions with regards to the pictures you posted (example: 'What school your child attends?' or 'How often do you guys go to this mall?'), refrain from answering on the thread even though they are your friends on FB. Just private message the person to reply them or ask them to message you instead. You never know who else is reading your comment. Your friend/relative might be checking FB in public or cafe and walk off to get something and leave their FB on. Scenarios, scenarios, scenarios.
  

More articles to read on this topic:

* The dangers of 'sharenting': From posting pictures of your baby online to uploading snaps of your family with location settings on ... are YOU putting your kids at risk by oversharing on social media?

* The dangers of posting photos online

*  Kidnapped teen daughter of millionaire found (read how the kidnappers target her)

Now you might say just don't post any pictures online, problem solved. True. But you need to also make sure other people don't post pictures of your and/or your family as well. So, just be as vigilant as possible.

Any other tips you would like to share?

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.

I came across this article which I must definitely share with you guys as I'm very interested to know your thoughts on this. For your convenience, I have copied the excerpts from the article here:

"Worried about your child’s vitamin and mineral intake? Most healthy children get what they need through their regular diet—however imperfect. And that means most children do not need to take multivitamin supplements.

That hasn't stopped parents in nearly seven out of 10 U.S. households with children from giving their kids over-the-counter multivitamins. That's according to the  market-research firm Mintel, which estimates that Americans spent some $440 million on children’s vitamins, minerals, and other supplements in 2013 alone. Makers of children’s multivitamins have zeroed in on this growing market, creating an array of products such as gummies and liquid vitamin drops that appeal to both kids and parents who are anxious about their children’s health.

“They are marketing to parents’ fears that their child is somehow going to miss out on something,” says Mark Corkins, M.D., pediatrics professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tenn.

In fact, the concept of taking a daily vitamin supplement originated not from scientific research, but from the marketing departments of  pharmaceutical companies such as Miles Laboratories in the 1940s, says Consumer Reports chief medical adviser Marvin M. Lipman, M.D. “Convincing the public to take a daily supplement as a preventative health measure was part of a very effective marketing strategy to increase sales of its One-A-Day brand vitamins,” says Lipman. "But there is no reliable medical evidence to support healthy people of any age taking a daily multivitamin,” he says.

In fact, Consumer Reports knows of no U.S. government health organization or professional medical organization that promotes the regular, across-the-board use of a multivitamin at any age. On the contrary, a nationwide study of children under age 4 published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that most children got the nutrients they needed from their usual diets and did not require a supplement. Another national study of more than 2,000 children in grades 1 to 12 found that the majority of children generally ate nutritionally adequate diets.

Ironically, doctors have noted that the very parents who give their children a multivitamin are the ones whose children are least likely to need it. “The very concerned parents, the ones who make sure kids wear a helmet when they ride a bicycle, wear seatbelts, and eat healthfully, their children are the ones who are least likely to need a supplement,” says Corkins, who is also a Certified Nutrition Support Clinician and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Nutrition.

It’s also important to note that dietary supplements, including multivitamins, do not undergo Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review and do not require FDA approval before they hit store shelves, so there’s no guarantee that they contain what’s listed on the label, or that they’re safe and effective.

Of course, some children with special dietary needs may need a multivitamin that’s prescribed or recommended by their doctor. But for everyone else, it’s OK to leave the multivitamin on the store shelf."

Growing up, I don't recall much about getting any vitamins or supplements except the rare ocassions where this neighbour uncle giving me vitamin C chewables when I played with his daughter once in a while at their house. Other than that, no recollection at all.

As a parent now, I do give multivitamins to our kiddos. I personally feel I should do that especially since I'm not giving them enough fruits and vegetables in their meals and I worry they might missed out on some nutrients or something, but that's just the paranoid me.

How about you? What do you think?

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.

I came across this article which I must definitely share with you guys as I'm very interested to know your thoughts on this. For your convenience, I have copied the excerpts from the article here:

"A doctor has warned parents against kissing their children on the lips, arguing it is “too sexual”.

Many parents will see it as a simple sign of parental affection, but Dr Charlotte Reznick has warned the mouth is an erogenous zone which “can be stimulating” and subsequently cause confusion for children. The author of ‘The Power of Your Child’s Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety Into Joy and Success’,  told The Sun that children might associate kissing with sexual or romantic activity between parents and then wonder why their parents were engaging in the same activity with them too. She says it might cause a child to think: “If mommy kisses daddy on the mouth and vice versa, what does that mean, when I, a little girl or boy, kiss my parents on the mouth.”

The suggestion has been derided by other child psychologists who say there is no harm in such displays of affection. Clinical psychologist Sally-Anne McCormack told the newspaper: “There is absolutely no way that kissing a young child on the lips is confusing for them in any way.

“That’s like saying breastfeeding is confusing. Some people might have issues with it, but it isn’t any more sexual than giving a baby a back rub.”"

I personally feel it is sexual if you make it so. Same goes for breastfeeding. What do you think?

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.