Parenting in the age of social media is still fairly uncharted territory, making the question of whether or not to show your child's face in online photos an interesting one. Although some parents are unfazed and choose to post adorable snaps of their kids without a second thought, other parents decide to be more careful, only sharing their child from behind if even at all. Jenny Mollen is a parent who's actually in both camps — she shares photos of her and Jason Biggs's 6-month-old son Lazlo's face on Instagram, but usually not their 4-year-old son Sid's.
After receiving questions about her unique social media policy, the mom took to her Instagram account to explain her reasoning.
"I don't post Sid's face [because] my account is public and not only do I not want him recognized, harassed, or interrupted in his daily life, I also don't think it's fair to expose him without his knowledge and understanding," the mom of two wrote. "Laz is still just a head, doesn't leave the house, and is morphing on a daily basis, but soon I will be blocking his face, too. Thanks for understanding."
A post shared by Jenny Mollen (@jennyandteets2) on
In her caption, Mollen did highlight the recent Parents magazine cover she did, in which both boys' faces are visible. She says it was one of the hardest choices she's made, but "decided that was worth it for the kids to have one day."
Some were confused by her reasoning, stating that if she was OK with doing the magazine cover, which would likely be seen by people who weren't even following her on Instagram, it doesn't really make sense why she would continue to block Sid's face — which she does by photographing him at angles that aren't head on, placing emojis over his face, or by posting photos in which he's wearing sunglasses — on her social account. On the flip side, many of Mollen's followers commented on a lighthearted note, saying that they assumed Sid just loved wearing shades.
As with all things parenting, it's Mollen's personal choice — and Biggs's — to decide how she portrays her boys on social media. And to be honest, we think Sid looks hella cute in a pair of sunnies anyway, so we're definitely not complaining!