Blogging the Parenthood Experience at Northern Voice 2010

Panelists, from left: Amber Strocel, Kerry Sauriol, Harriet Fancott, Danielle Christopher, Lesley McKnight, and Manda Aufochs-Gillespie at Northern Voice 2010 in Vancouver, Canada, May 8, 2010

Six moms who blog answered these and other questions today at Northern Voice in Vancouver. For example: should parents put photos of their kids online? Can parents give this consent on their kids’ behalf? How will these photos affect their kids’ lives in the future?

“As a parent you make lots of decisions for your kids every day,” said Amber – who blogs at http://www.strocel.com. “I put their images online and I use my best judgement.”

Amber said her kids – aged 5 and nearly 2 – “don’t have a problem” with their photos being online. She said she would not put their photos online if they asked her not to.

Someone asked what if your kids apply for a job in the future and a potential employer researches the Web and finds photos of them from long ago?

Kerry – the creator of Crunchy Carpets and Wet Coast Women – said that, with evolution of technology, having these photos online will be commonplace. Employers will realize the difference between private and professional lives.

“Being on the internet is not going to be weird for our kids,” she said.

Someone asked the women how they felt about the term “mommy blogger.”

Lesley McKnight said she wouldn’t necessarily refer to herself as a “mommy blogger.” She is a freelance writer who blogs about her family life to remember the moments of each day. Her blog is “like modernized scrapbooking” and she prints it each year.

“I feel like a person having the experience of raising a family,” Lesley said. “It’s about capturing a fleeting moment in time and putting it into a tiny bottle. What you’re doing on a day to day basis, is going to be more important down the road… It’s about capturing the moment – whether you’re a dad or a mom.”

I first met panelist Harriet at Langara Journalism School in 1992 and we worked on class projects together. She blogs at See Theo Run about life with her baby son, who she and her husband adopted last summer 2009. Theirs is an open adoption, and Harriet is documenting it, keeping the anonymity of the birth family, who remain an important part of their lives.

Since Harriet started telling her family’s story, she has been contacted by adult adoptees, birth moms, and other people who request info, play dates, meetings, etc. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up. In the past, coincidentally, she worked for Adoption B.C., so she can probably steer them in the right direction because of that (in addition to her own experience.)

We also heard from Manda Aufochs-Gillespie – creator of The Green Mama and Danielle Christopher – of The Momoir Project. Thanks to all for a good conversation.

Update: May 16, 2010

I feel remiss in not including the views of Danielle Christopher, who was the only mom to say “yes” she is a mommy blogger. She blogged about her experience on the Northern Voice panel in her post “Is Mommy Blogging the new Tupperware?”

In it, she says: “I am proud to be a mommy blogger. In my blog, I am leaving a legacy for my daughters. They will have all these stories to read and cherish forever. I do not have personal accounts from my mom. She died when I was ten.”

Tags: #nv10, safety kids