tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post8943825755546387984..comments2023-03-31T05:59:51.984-07:00Comments on The Mule: Should We Share Images of Our Children Online?The Mulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06786143388807016249noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-69636330287419633092012-07-04T14:12:48.238-07:002012-07-04T14:12:48.238-07:00Hi Danielle
Thanks for your comment!
Of course I d...Hi Danielle<br />Thanks for your comment!<br />Of course I disagree too with Plan B...I do think it is damaging for a child to have their image misused, albeit indirectly damaging, it can't simply be discounted and shrugged off. I look forward to your cogent reply on that one anyway!<br />My blog is called The Mule because that is the name my partner gave to me a long time ago when we had first met and I was struggling up a small mountain behind him with a large rucksack on my back! It stuck, probably because I am pretty stubborn, loyal, determined, Mulish, etc. I called my blog The Mule, not anticipating that it would be quite successful and just as a family in joke really. I think it fits somehow. So there you go. My real name is Milli. <br />Thanks for stopping by, look forward to your further thoughts.<br />xThe Mulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06786143388807016249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-5967040430787866342012-07-04T13:49:57.580-07:002012-07-04T13:49:57.580-07:00Thoroughly disagree with this reply by Plan B.
Th...Thoroughly disagree with this reply by Plan B. <br />The original poster said nothing about poliving people's thoughts and desires...whereever did you get that impression?<br /><br />She is merely saying that she feels uneasy about the fact that she can't control a sicko/pedophile getting off the the images of a breastfeeding mother and child. <br /><br />And I am seriously offended on the original poster's behalf that you said : "And it's just an image. It is not your child, or my child. It is a picture. And whatever someone thinks about that picture, they are not thinking it about the child and they are not hurting the child."<br /><br />What. The. EFFF?? I have no words for that right now. But I intend to get a cogent reply to be back. <br /><br />Sorry for my mini rant on your blog - I don't even know your name and why this blog is called the mule? I came by way of the Single crunch which is an AP/crunchy type blog :) <br /><br />*Danielle*Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-69735057417044425742012-06-14T15:36:11.965-07:002012-06-14T15:36:11.965-07:00Thanks Erika for your comment.
It is such a diffic...Thanks Erika for your comment.<br />It is such a difficult issue, as many of the comments also reflect.<br />Sorry to those above to whom I have not replied...I have to say that sometimes I have avoided replying as I don't always feel I know my OWN mind about this issue, I go round in circles, and part of me really wishes I could reinstate the breastfeeding galleries on this blog, for a start. But I can't do that with a clear conscience, in particular as EVERY SINGLE DAY people find my blog by searching for things that would really make your toes curl.<br />I don't think the above commenter is right to say that it is futile. We all need to be aware of these issues and do what we can to try to prevent such activity. And I also disagree that it is 'just an image'. I'm not sure how far you could stretch that.<br />For me the bottom line is that I feel more comfortable knowing that the people who find my blog each day looking for sexual images are not finding images of children or breastfeeding. <br />Best wishes to you and all the other commenters!<br />xThe Mulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06786143388807016249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-63372643550116781512012-06-12T07:37:22.811-07:002012-06-12T07:37:22.811-07:00You've really captured the complexities of thi...You've really captured the complexities of this issue in this post - thank you! I know there are many people out there that need to know what you have shared, especially the part about social networking being only a few years older than our children, and we really don't know what the longer term repercussions are going to be. We are all part of a social experiment here, and while I'm not paranoid, it is important to really think about what we are doing when we engage with the Internet.<br /><br />The search terms used to arrive at one's blog are a fascinating study, and a lot of people don't understand that piece unless they have one. I wrote a similar post a while back, about please stop putting my child's photo on your Facebook page. (http://consciousparents.org/stop-posting-pictures-of-my-child-online-please/)<br /><br />Since doing so, surprisingly, a huge percentage of my new traffic to my site is from search queries asking about posting photos of children online, and how to stop that. Clearly there are many parents worried about this topic, and if they are finding MY site searching for that term, it means there is not a lot of other information out there about it. And there needs to be.Erika McDanielhttp://www.consciousparents.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-80138322722275663722012-05-21T11:25:49.676-07:002012-05-21T11:25:49.676-07:00I've come to this late, although weirdly I was...I've come to this late, although weirdly I was thinking about it again recently (due mostly to a post over at Potty Mummy, who had had a similar issue with search terms).<br /><br />I don't show my children's faces on my blog. Nor do I use their names, or mine. I make an effort not to reveal too much about where we live. I do not want us, and particularly them, to be easily identifiable - although I realise that anyone who already knows us, or anyone who really wants to, could find out with probably less than five minutes effort.<br /><br />But I also realise that I cannot police people's thoughts and desires. I am sure there are cookery blogs, or diy blogs, or gardening blogs out there that do it for a very small minority of people. We cannot control that. <br /><br />And it's just an image. It is not your child, or my child. It is a picture. And whatever someone thinks about that picture, they are not thinking it about the child and they are not hurting the child.<br /><br />You cannot stop these people by removing the pictures. They will find others somehow, and presumably, if they can't, what is much worse, they will make them themselves. <br /><br />I understand your choice, I really do. I'm afraid to say, though, that I think it's futile.Harriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11975259590293860488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-12426259385790511072012-02-22T18:06:51.855-08:002012-02-22T18:06:51.855-08:00Good post!
I don't reveal my daughter's f...Good post!<br /><br />I don't reveal my daughter's face in photos on my blog, nor her name as they are hers. I am even cautious about sharing her words and descriptions of her actions. My blog is *my* perspective on being a parent, it is not really about her at all although she features prominently in my life. <br /><br />As for paedophiles - I recognise that we live in a world where they exist, where they aren't easily identifiable. Of course they will do what they do. So must we do what we must to protect ourselves and the innocent. I work on the premise that they are watching, they are surfing, they are looking for naive parents/bloggers to provide them with suitable material. I will not be one of those people. <br /><br />Of course there is a part of me who wishes the world were different, who still uses the word "should"... but that aspect of me is outweighed by my commitment to living in the world as it is, here and now. My job is to protect myself and my daughter - this is where my power lies. <br /><br />Well done for recognising that what you intend is not necessarily what is perceived. Well done for taking action and removing the images. Getting real is always a good thing!Lilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732069465269276569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-41732300864369201902012-02-18T09:20:31.674-08:002012-02-18T09:20:31.674-08:00Great read this morning and good to know about Pin...Great read this morning and good to know about Pin interest (just got an invite~weird concept). I sure hope we get the right "to be forgotten" and are able to pull down stolen photos and information in the future.<br /><br />I was just tweeting how Huggie's diapers has a photo of a baby breastfeeding on it's size 1 package and I thought ~finally!<br /><br />I do use a photo of my kiddo for my profile picture as that face has morphed away into his new big child face. I like the concept of the image belonging to him...<br /><br />I love historical pictures of mothers and children who mostly are nameless and realize they too have morphed away. Our pictures will show how we live, what is important to us..how much to prune away?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-43757468689593625922012-02-13T14:23:55.999-08:002012-02-13T14:23:55.999-08:00Thanks for your comment Alex. xThanks for your comment Alex. xThe Mulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06786143388807016249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-59741189246163679162012-02-12T04:49:29.164-08:002012-02-12T04:49:29.164-08:00I just realised something unclear in my post - whe...I just realised something unclear in my post - when I have written "child pornography" I refer to images which have been copied and distributed with the focus being of a sexual nature. I do not mean that child abuse is being photographed and shared on facebook. I mean that images are being taken without permission off of facebook, distributed amongst questionable people and have been found by police along with images of child abuse and other sexually explicit material.Ally Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862259140856413009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-17297355098505909832012-02-11T06:54:36.965-08:002012-02-11T06:54:36.965-08:00Thank you for your post :) I believe you have rais...Thank you for your post :) I believe you have raised some extremely relevant points. I often wonder - because the internet is so new, is this why people are not more aware? Is it like communism? Will we soon see that it isn't all it seems and that there is too much chance for corruption? Perhaps in 10 years the sorts of things people post now will seem stupid and dangerous. I too have been weighing up exactly what you have explored in this post. Something I was considering a few days ago - I thought of the internet as like a huge room with the dimensions of a football field, then filled with miniscule pins. These were all the web addresses in the huge world of the web. So, how likely is it that my pin will be pulled out? How likely is it with search engines involved? How can I hide my pin better? Once a pin has been found once, that means that it is always easily located right? ...... So all in all, the internet is this vast thing. But when search engines are involved, what happens? I don't understand it all completely, but I too have become very worried about how normal people have jumped headfirst into this world. I dare say that awareness and attitudes will change as more and more child porography traced back to facebook is found. Already I believe most child pornography these days has been taken from facebook. Thank you for this post. As I was reading it I had a rather dark feeling, and I am frankly too afraid to google breastfeeding xxx. I am a new fan of your blog, and I wholeheartedly believe you did right in removing your images.Ally Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862259140856413009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-4880801042944126022012-02-10T00:10:24.001-08:002012-02-10T00:10:24.001-08:00Gosh, that is a worrying story, thank you for shar...Gosh, that is a worrying story, thank you for sharing it. I'm sorry that it has happened to you, but I'm afraid it illustrates my point very well. We can't think through all of these eventualities because this world is so new to us. We shouldn't feel so comfortable in it, unfortunately. <br />Thanks again xThe Mulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06786143388807016249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-4921899106676550732012-02-10T00:08:35.735-08:002012-02-10T00:08:35.735-08:00Didn't read it that way Jenski!Didn't read it that way Jenski!The Mulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06786143388807016249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-80939216226336309522012-02-10T00:07:56.679-08:002012-02-10T00:07:56.679-08:00Thank you Canadian Mama, especially for your point...Thank you Canadian Mama, especially for your point about the rights of children, which Jenski above has also highlighted. <br />Last week I was asked to be in a magazine article about extended breastfeeding and I said no for the same reason. I wasn't sure what light they were going to paint it in, but also, I felt that my breastfeeding relationship belonged to her as much as it does to me, that it was special, and that in years to come she might not like pictures of her nursing at 3 being in a magazine.<br />Thanks again for your thoughts xThe Mulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06786143388807016249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-53480536990203144472012-02-10T00:01:00.701-08:002012-02-10T00:01:00.701-08:00Thanks Jenski. I'm hearing that point being ma...Thanks Jenski. I'm hearing that point being made a lot too, that perhaps these images belong to our children as much as or more than they do to us, and maybe it is not our right to share them so widely...<br />Thanks again. xThe Mulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06786143388807016249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-8666496355085849402012-02-09T15:17:14.480-08:002012-02-09T15:17:14.480-08:00I've recently removed my blogs from view, as w...I've recently removed my blogs from view, as well as any other online photo album with pictures of my girls. The only ones i've kept are facebook because of the privacy settings. <br />my reason for it? Pinterest. I recently had a photo of me and my daughter post onto...basicly a porn board on pinterest and i cant get it off of there because noone from the site will contact me. Suddenly by seeing how easily things spread on pinterest scared the life out of me, and do I want my daughters googling themselves in a few years and finding their picture in places I didnt expect it to be?Mama to Munchkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09669195373636409835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-61895907501031444102012-02-09T15:12:58.254-08:002012-02-09T15:12:58.254-08:00PS - Didn't mean to sound all righteous about ...PS - Didn't mean to sound all righteous about FB - I just think it is a personal choice to be made by the individual...Adminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10690078158754200368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-1383210756087981842012-02-09T14:58:13.657-08:002012-02-09T14:58:13.657-08:00I'm glad you took the pictures down but sad ab...I'm glad you took the pictures down but sad about it. Sad that it has to be a problem because it really is one of the most beautiful things. But glad because of all the reasons you listed about. <br /><br />Also, as a social worker, I am always aware of children's rights. Which sadly, are not as protected in this new digital age. I have viewed pictures of my mother nursing me, I'm happy she did and comfortable with these pictures. I would not be comfortable with her posting them on the internet for the world to see. And that is what I don't think many women out there think about when they post breast feeding pictures on the net. <br /><br />Yes, they may be comfortable with this (and that is GREAT if they are) but will their children be? Will their son be mortified when he's in high school and a picture of him nursing is posted on his facebook wall? He might be cool with it and he might be mortified. And if we are going to be posting pictures of our children we need to always be thinking about them! About their rights and their emotional needs. <br /><br />Anyways, sorry you've gotten some uncomfortable comments!CanadianMamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830797268318076910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408457313131912061.post-91287747843712590612012-02-09T14:52:24.631-08:002012-02-09T14:52:24.631-08:00I am sure you will get a variety of replys - I hav...I am sure you will get a variety of replys - I have friends who have their life on FB and some who just use it as a form of glorified Email.<br /><br />Personally I am very wary about putting pics of my children up on Facebook - I wouldnt hand out photo's to strangers on the street so why would I post them somewhere that anyone (cos it really is anyone) can see them? A few have crept on via friends and family but I am considering contacting them and asking them to take them down...<br /><br />If my children grow up and decide they want to share their childhood photos then that is their choice - it is not up to me to make that decision for them.<br /><br />I personally think only you can answer the question on if it was the right thing to do as it is your blog and your responsibility.<br /><br />Thank you for a great post to make me think some more...Adminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10690078158754200368noreply@blogger.com