Police Warn Indiana Parents Against Back-to-School Photo Trend

If you plan on taking photos of your kids on their first day of school, there are some things that you need to know about before you post them on social media.

Summer break is nearing its end. It feels like just yesterday, the kiddos were getting out of school and eager to take advantage of summer. In less than a month's time, kids will be returning to school. By now, you might have already started back-to-school shopping for clothes and supplies so the kiddos will be looking sharp on their first day back. Over the past few years, there has been a trend on social media where parents take photos of their kids on the first day of school posing with a sign to celebrate the first day of a new school year. These signs could be revealing more personal information about your child than you realize, and can all be used by predators, scammers, and other people looking to endanger your child, family, or finances.

Be Careful What You Post on the First Day of School

We've all seen those photos on social media, heck you might have taken photos of your kids with those first-day-of-school signs. These signs feature information - school name, classroom, grade, age, etc. The idea behind it is cute and innocent, however, this information, in the wrong hands, could potentially put your child in danger.

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Posts have been going viral over the past couple of days from law enforcement agencies warning parents not to share so much information in these photos. While the posts may be from a couple of years ago, the warnings are still relevant.

Another example comes from the Lafayette, Indiana Police Department. You can check it out below.

These are some things to consider before posting that photo of your kid on the first day of school. This isn't to discourage you from posting photos like this, just be mindful of the information you put out there. You can omit certain answers on the board, or you can blur them out before posting online.