AITA: Not Allowing Anything About My Children To Be Posted Online

So many parents have made the decision to keep their children offline for a variety of reasons. You'd expect family and friends to abide by this important rule, wouldn't you?

One Mum has took to Reddits AITA (Am I The Asshole?) board when she found out her Mum had ignored her wishes...

Read the main post below...

"My (F29) mum (F63) is chronically online, and I really mean that. She posts every second of every day on her Facebook account, and no detail is too small. Safe to say, privacy is an issue.

When I fell pregnant with my first (M3), my husband (M30) and I were really concerned about our children being online. We were incredibly clear with everyone in our lives that social media is a no go. Happy for someone to chat to their friends about the new baby or school achievements, but we do not want photos of our children online. We made this especially clear with my mum.

My mum has been great about this until last night. I gave birth to our second (F) two weeks ago, and my mom is staying with us to help out. Last night, as I was lying in bed, I saw that my mom had posted a photo of my son holding my daughter with the caption "New lady in our lives."

Now, I just about hit the roof. We have one rule, and I don't think it is unreasonable! I waited until this morning to cool down and talk to my mum about it, and she is just digging her heels in. She has called the rule ridiculous, and said that she doesn't have anyone important on her Facebook so it doesn't matter.

She currently isn't talking to me, no matter how much I say that this is a rule that we made and, as the parents, we expect that this is followed. For reference, the photo is still up.

My husband is on my side, but my sister (F26) is saying I am being too hard on her as a proud gran. AITA?"

Read the full Reddit thread here

What was the general consensus?

The poster was voted NTA (Not The Asshole). One of the top comments said:

"NTA! Your mom violated a very reasonable boundary that you as parents have set to protect your children. We have the same rule as you. It’s not fair on children to have a significant digital footprint from birth!

If I was you I would report the post to the social media platform she put it up on and deny her access to your children untill she takes the post down and apologizes. (Whether that’s a viable option for you is something only you can decide)

Bottom line: Your mom’s desire to share her life online does not trump your children’s right to privacy."

While another said: 

"NTA. I never post photos of anyone, especially a minor, unless I have been explicitly told it's okay. Your mother should learn to accept that this is the way you want things to be. Remind her that these are your children and she either needs to follow your rules or there will be consequences."

Our verdict...

If the parents have expressed their feelings on keeping their children off social media, then that decision should 100% be respected. No-one should go against the parents on their rule. There are so many bad people online and every parent only wishes to keep their children safe. If the Grandmother can't respect their wishes then maybe the parents need to stay present when she visits to stop her from taking photos!

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