SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Many schools, such as Nixa, Ozark, Republic, Rogersville, and Strafford, start back up on Monday, with more schools, including Springfield, starting on that following Tuesday.
With it being the first day back for most families, some parents want to post typical back-to-school pictures of their kids online. However, the Springfield Police Department (SPD) said to be extremely careful if you post pictures online with details that could expose your children to bad people.
Cris Swaters is the SPD Public Affairs Officer. She said it’s fine to post pictures of your kid’s first day of school on social media, but how you do it, it should be well thought out.
“When you take those back-to-school pictures, the ones that you wanna share online: keep the details minimal, if any at all,” Swaters said. “Take a picture of your kiddo in front of a brick wall or in front of a tree, and make sure there are not any identifying features at the location where you’re at.”
Swaters also said not to take a picture of your child in front of their school since that gives away where they attend school. Pictures in front of your house can also be a problem to post because it gives away where your family lives.
If you decide to make a sign for your kid to take a picture with, leaving off details like last names, grades, and even teachers’ names is not needed on those signs.
She said it’s great to take back-to-school pictures, but parents must be a little more aware of what they post before it’s all over the internet.
“The internet is a place where there are a lot of people, and you don’t know their intentions,” Swaters said. “Even if your profile is private, you don’t know who is going to be able to see those photos or who might screenshot that photo and send it to someone else.”
She said taking these extra precautions is not only for your child’s safety but for the safety and privacy of your whole family.
“Keep the details minimal and enjoy your back-to-school season.”
There’s a whole section of back-to-school articles on our website.
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