Privacy issues - offline and online

As my son grows older, we have lots of reasons to celebrate: His growing sense of responsibility, the way he is able to write and almost read, and the way he is gaining control over his emotional and physical being.

We are also celebrating something else: The return of Mommy's privacy. 

We've started conversations about privacy with our son - starting with the bathroom door. Which, for the record, should be closed whether you have children or not (preserve the magic in your marriage, people). Our son is just at the right age where he is picking up on the fact that if the door is closed, he needs to knock first.

Granted, he usually walks right in after knocking, but baby steps...

As he gets older, I try to be more respectful of his privacy as well. This includes my behavior to him offline and online. That's a decision I made before I started my blog - to keep his name and face off it (stories are fair game).

So, in this day and age when we read more stories about our security being violated or monitored, it is no surprise that parents are getting concerned about what they've been sharing on social media sites. And now, they want that information removed.

New companies, like UnBaby.me uses technology to replace baby-related posts with other posts like pictures of cats. I am totally for this service. Because, perhaps, in your rush of excitement to post the news that your little one just used the potty for the first time, you forgot how many people can potentially read that update. And perhaps it would be better for your career and your friendships with non parents to replace that post with a picture of a kitty hanging off a tree branch with the caption "Don't sweat the small stuff."

How do you teach your children about privacy in the real world and online?