My qualifications for writing this post are negligible. I don’t work with students in ministry, I’ve never written a book about it and I don’t have an advanced degree in Child Psychology.

My qualifications for writing this piece:)

But I have some words I want to share with the moms and dad in my life who are parenting teens in a world where everything we all do is fodder for social media. 

I actually love social media. I think it’s a powerful tool for connection and I’ve found lots of great community there. So this is not a “down with Facebook, twitter and instagram” post.

But I do think, as parents, we need to be cautious. So in our house, we live by a few social media rules:

1. Don’t post without permission. If I want to post something about one of my kids, I ASK FIRST. Their stories are theirs, not mine, and I don’t have the right to post anything that makes them uncomfortable.
2. Don’t use social media to shame. All our kids do things that bug us and yes, there are times when I will post about these things as a coping mechanism. But when I do, I am careful to not use a child’s name and NEVER to shame my kids. Because you may think they’re not reading what you post. But they are. And NOBODY learns from being shamed.
3. Remember that your child’s social media presence will last FOREVER (well, maybe not forever, but certainly into their adulthood). And yes, future employers, college admissions officers and others will look up their online presence. My oldest has always been very aware of this and asked me at a very young age (9 I believe) to not post about him and to limit the pictures that I posted of him. I have honored that request (which is why some of you say to me I didn’t know you had another child;).

Three pretty simple rules. I like the funny post. In fact, I am a master of social media funny. If there were a college degree in funny FB posts, I am sure I would be top of my class. And my kids do some STINKING FUNNY STUFF. But even when I know it will entertain others to no end, I’m following these rules first. Because I am not an entertainer. I am a mom. And my kids deserve to tell their own stories their own way.

Have you ever had a conversation with your kids about what you post on social media? If so, how’d it go? Any rules I should add?