Social media was created for people to connect to others, share their photos and post their thoughts. I get it. What I don’t get is people who feel the need to keep the world up to date with their children’s daily lives. Before I get accused of being anti-baby or the least maternal person in the entire world, let me say that I would love to have a family some day and will most likely talk about my child non-stop to anyone who will listen. Also, my best friend is a matter of weeks away from welcoming her first child and I can’t wait to see when the little one takes its first step or find out what its first word is (I say its because I don’t want to give away the sex – again, I’m not anti-baby). Do I want to know that its vomit has now returned to a normal colour or see a live blog of its bowel movements? No. And I don’t know if there are any friends or acquaintances out there who would. (For the record, I would feel the same way if my 25-year-old friend was letting people know she had successfully gone to the toilet. But she doesn’t, for a reason.) Posting about those things doesn’t make you a proud mother (as someone I know once argued when people asked her why she was sharing such information), it’s oversharing and it’s unnecessary if not a tad inappropriate. There’s also the fact that this little bundle of joy will grow up some day and, while Facebook might be a distant memory at that time, I doubt they will want to know that their bodily fluids were talked about on the internet where, we have learned, nothing ever truly gets deleted. Speaking of which, privacy is my other argument for not posting about children on social media. Like I said, any comments or images that you post online are there potentially for the world to see. Many people will probably say that I have the option to hide said posts from my Facebook timeline. This is true (and I have availed of this service on a number of occasions) but that won’t stop me from disagreeing with this growing trend. The joys of motherhood are personal and should be kept as such. Yes, mothers often swap stories about the early years of parenthood and gush about their little ones but is it really necessary to do it in a place that is so public? Don’t misunderstand me, I can see why people share pictures and updates for their loved ones who they don’t see that often and like to keep their friends posted on their child’s progress (although I also think this should be done with caution). The nature of these posts is heartfelt and a pleasure to see. They make me say “aww”, not “eww.” It comes down to the volume and the subject. That’s the difference. And that’s the difference between whether I hide your posts or not.