A health visitor has sounded the alarm for all parents about the dangers of oversharing children’s information on social media. Ruth Watts took to TikTok to demonstrate how easily your child’s details can be accessed by strangers and offered immediate steps to protect them.
“I want you to guess my relation to this child I’m about to explain,” she began her video. “I know this child’s full name, date of birth, their parents’ names and birthdays, where the child was born and lives now.”
She went on to reveal that she also knows the child’s favourite foods, toys, TV characters, their bedtime routine, and their preferred play areas. To drive her point home, Ruth added: “I know which hospital the child goes to for medical procedures, their diagnoses and allergies, what their bedroom looks like and where it is in the house.”
But then came a startling admission: Ruth has no relation to the child at all. “I purely know them from social media,” she warned. “I purely know all of that information because the parents have chosen to share that private, confidential information about their child.”
Ruth acknowledged that such information isn’t shared all at once but rather piece by piece, with each TikTok video and Instagram post adding to a “jigsaw”. She highlighted: “People pay attention to the pieces – and the wrong people pay attention to it.”
In her concluding remarks, Ruth strongly advised parents against posting images of their children’s faces online. “They cannot consent – they don’t have an understanding of what you’re signing them up to,” she contended.
The advice resonated with hundreds on TikTok, prompting a flurry of responses. One user criticised: “People are far too concerned with making money online over their children’s safety.” Another expressed admiration for the advice, adding: “This is the best thing I’ve EVER seen online.”
A cautious new parent shared: “As a new mum this is exactly why majority of people have no idea I even have a child. The people that matter will see him grow up in person, not fake friends through a screen.” Whilst another agreed: “Well said, I’m not a parent but I find it so weird parents plaster their kids all over social media, and parents that let their kids have social media as well, kids don’t need to be online.”
Conversely, however, one parent disclosed their choice to share aspects of their children’s lives online. “I opt to share some of my children’s life on social media,” they explained. “My now 15-year old said she is so glad I did as she loves looking at all her memories that pop up daily. Social media can be positive.”
And a second suggested selective sharing as an alternative. They added: “I share some photos of my kids on certain social media, but never photos of them in certain rooms in our home, or anything about their personal info.”