A free family guide to the decisions adults make before posting a child’s photograph. It covers audience choice, visible identifying details, review of older posts, involving children in decisions, and the difference between removing an image at its source and removing an eligible result from a search engine. It links to UNICEF and Google guidance and does not promise that every copy can be erased.
Suggested 25-minute discussion activity for parents and educators, adaptable for children in grades 3–6 with adult facilitation:
1. Separate the choices (5 minutes). Use a drawing of an imaginary child, never a real pupil’s photograph. Discuss taking a picture, keeping it, and sharing it as separate decisions. Permission for one does not settle the others.
2. Map the audience (5 minutes). Place three paper labels on a table: one named recipient, a closed group, a public page. Move the drawing between them. Ask who could receive or forward it. A closed group is not a guarantee that an image stays inside it.
3. Find hidden details (5 minutes). Add a fictional full name, school badge and weekly activity time to a sample caption. Decide which details are unnecessary. Hiding a face does not remove a readable badge, location or routine.
4. Practise a changed mind (5 minutes). A fictional child previously agreed to a family photo but now feels uncomfortable. Rehearse: “Thank you for telling me. Let’s review where it is and what we can do.” Discuss removal at the source and asking recipients not to forward it, without promising complete erasure.
5. Exit task (5 minutes). A club wants to put the drawing on a public website. Write the purpose, audience, permission still needed and an alternative if someone declines. Assess the reasoning, not willingness to appear in a photo.
Participation may be spoken, written or drawn; a learner may pass. Do not solicit personal incidents, children’s usernames, accounts or family images. Adults should use their institution’s safeguarding and image-use procedures. This is an educational discussion, not a legal consent form. A practical family outcome is one agreed rule to pause before sharing and a route to request removal.
Created by Cyber Sqool; the submitter is its founder. The linked guide is freely readable without a subscription. No commercial product purchase is required for this activity.
