Police in McHenry County are warning parents not to share too much information about their children on social media as they return to school for the start of the new school year.
Huntley police said Saturday that many area schools will resume classes this week.
The department expects a flood of back-to-school images on social media in the coming days.
“While pictures with ‘back to school’ signs are a lovely way to capture moments and milestones each year, please also think carefully about what information you share about your children online,” police officials said.
On their children’s first day of school, parents often post photos of themselves holding signs with information about themselves.
“Imagine a stranger takes a photo of your child and then starts asking questions and taking notes: What is your name? How old are you? What school do you go to? Who is your teacher? What is your favorite color? How much do you weigh? How tall are you? What is your favorite food? What do you want to be when you grow up? What activities do you do?” the agency said.
“That would probably make you uncomfortable as a parent, right? Posting pictures with these signs is essentially the same thing, just with a much larger audience,” the department added.
Parents are reminded that an image shared online can be shared anywhere, regardless of their social media privacy settings.
“We don’t want to take away the joy of sharing these special moments with your friends and family. We just want you to consider what information you really want to share about your children before you write that adorable back-to-school post,” Huntley police said.
