Social media is a funny thing. It can be used for good and it can be used for evil, but overall it’s such an important aspect in our lives. Then there’s all these unspoken rules, but the one I’d like to discuss today is “thou shall not post too many pictures of your kids,” and to that I say F*** off. Now before I go any further, I should note that you should take all the precautions you can to protect your kids on social media. For me, I have a restricted Instagram and Facebook so only the people I trust can see pictures of my kiddos. Even for this blog you won’t see many recent pictures of my kids (which is a shame because they’re pretty cute) because I want to protect them, but rest assured I am taking lots of pictures behind the scenes.

So, why do I think that you should take a million pictures of your kids? For the memories. In the moment you’re thinking you’ll never forget what your baby looked like when she smiled with her one tooth poking through. You think that the delicious and mesmerizing sound of their baby giggle will be a song that stays in your heart forever, but trust me when I say that those memories will fade. I started crying yesterday when I was cuddling with Peanut #2 and she was laughing away, and I couldn’t remember if it was the same laugh that Peanut #1 had when she was little. Thankfully, I’m one of those Mamas that does take all the pictures and videos and I could go back through and find a video of Peanut #1 laughing to remind me of that sweet sweet sound. FYI, they sort of sound the same but not really. I treasure these videos and pictures more than all the gold in the world and I will never regret taking them.

There is however, a huge difference of being on your phone all the time while your kid is running in the park and you one your phone to take a picture and then go back to living in the moment. It’s hard to find that balance but who said any part of parenthood was easy.

Also, to any of the Dads reading this blog, take some damn pictures of your wife with the kids. I have approximately 3,000,000 pictures of my husband with the girls, and around 100 of me and the girls and it sucks. I’m trying to be better at taking even selfies with the girls because I want them to remember me, but let’s be honest selfies are never the most flattering. So Dads or anyone around the Mom, take the picture while she’s snuggling with the kids on the couch or when she’s watching the kiddos run wild in the park, because she’ll treasure those pictures later on.

PS. Bonus points if you schedule professional pictures of the family to ensure everyone is in the picture and looking their best.