This one is entirely not mine , I'm just sharing it with you . It came from the site www.parentdish.co.uk , you can logged on to the site for more interesting stuff and information. Have an enjoyable reading time ~ !
Why do parents have to share EVERYTHING their children do on Facebook?
By Carrie Dunn
As my friends have started to settle down
and have children , I have noticed that people simply don't understand basic
good manners .
Well , when I say "people" , I mean
"parents" .
I would argue , based on my own experience,
that once people become parents , they lose all the knowledge of online
etiquette they once had . The popular American website STFUParents ( short for
Shut the . . . yes , well ) has daily updates from Facebook walls in which parents
make inappropriate comments and share too much information , particularly about
their child's bowel movements .
You needn't feel superior , though , and
think this is a purely American phenomenon . It happens all the time in the UK
as well .
My friend Helen, eight months pregnant ,
noted that she was tired after a busy day at work - one of her parent friends
gleefully commented that she should get used to being tired because once the
baby arrives she'll never get a good night's sleep again .
Then my friend Georgina , mum to a
four-month-old , posted her little boy's weight at his latest health check - one
of her parent friends immediately wanted to know what on earth she was feeding
him because clearly he was too heavy .
These impolite commenters are the sorts of
parents who post pictures of their precious child's "nappy
explosions" ( why would you want to memorialise these incidents on the
internet ? Wouldn't it be better for all of you just to clear it up and forget
about it very quickly ? ) , and catalogue all the minutiae of their darling baby's
day .
Here's a newsflash . Babies are really quite
dull. If something of genuine interest happens – something properly funny , or
entertaining, or unusual – by all means , put it as your status . However , please
be warned. Your baby gurgling , your baby shuffling around the floor , your baby
sleeping , your baby eating food – this is NOT INTERESTING to anyone except you
and your immediate family . As for me and the other 300 of your Facebook
friends , we're yawning with the tedium of it all and considering blocking you
from our news feeds .
Before you tell me I'm a child-hating
killjoy , let me refer you to my friend Julia . "I've got a friend whose
children I know better than my own nieces and nephews thanks to her incessant
updates , including videos of them DOING NOTHING ," she rages .
"Everything they say is apparently hilarious . I have a few friends whose
updates make me silently scream , 'I don't care !' but she is one of the worst .
Your children had their jabs , did they? I DON'T GIVE A FLYING ONE !"
My friend Chris is bored by one of his
Facebook friends , who's newly pregnant and keeping everyone updated with every
minute of it . "She's been telling us the exact date she finds out the sex
of her baby , posting updates and counting down," he snarls ." And
then , at the end of the countdown, she posted this : 'Sorry , guys , baby was a
wriggler and keeping legs firmly crossed . Couldn't get a clear view so having
another scan tomorrow at 10.30am . Keep fingers crossed !'"
What Chris's friend has failed to realise
is that though we like you and are happy that you are realising your dream of
parenthood and wish for nothing but health and happiness for your new baby , you
are the only one who is really excited about all the details of your child's
day , in utero and post-birth . The rest of us will just react with an "Oh,
that's lovely !" because it's what politeness dictates - not because we
hate children , but because it's just not that enthralling if you're not
personally closely involved .
However , what I hate more than reading
about your child's projectile vomiting is when you comment on photos of me with
my nephew or my friends' babies and tell me it "suits" me , or it'll
be my "turn" next .
Do I comment on photos of your child and
tell you it won't be long until you can get back to work , or that it's a shame
you had to sacrifice your career in favour of bringing up your baby ? No , I
don't, it would be terribly thoughtless and rude . So why does being a parent
give you carte blanche to do that in reverse ?
Is this the classic "mummy brain"
kicking into action , where parents' minds shrink and all they can think about
is their baby , no matter how out-of-place their comments ? Is this why parents
decide to replace their Facebook profile pictures of themselves with pictures
of their child ?
Here's a thought for you , infant-obsessed
parents . Your Facebook is YOUR Facebook . We're friends with you there because
we like you . Yes , your child is a big part of your life – but not your whole
life . Keep your face as your profile picture , and post about things that you've
done and thought and seen , not just the amazing occurrence of your child having
a runny nose .
If those rules don't work for you , perhaps you
need to take a 10-year hiatus from the internet and go back to social
networking once your genius child can properly supervise you .
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