Sharing Photos and Videos of Children with Their Parents

[Farid]

Hi,

I am the father of a two-year-old and we live in Hamilton, Ontario. We started sending our daughter to daycare in September. We really like receiving photos or videos from her time in the daycare, but we have received only a couple of photos in the past 4 months. And they are usually low-quality photos and are printed on paper.
I know that there are good software solutions for sharing photos/videos electronically, but our daycare is not using any of them.
I thought the problem might be in the cost of those solutions. And most of them, like Brightwheel or kidcare, are all-in-one solutions that cost more than simple cloud storage. That's why I created a simple solution for just this particular need. It's basically very easy-to-use cloud storage that enables teachers to share photos and videos with parents. Just that. And the main cost involved will be the cost of cloud storage which is about $0.03 per GB per month. For example, if a daycare wants to use 100 GB of storage to share photos and videos with parents, it will cost the centre about $3 per month.

My questions:
* What do you think about sharing photos and videos with parents in general?
* What do you think about the solution that I have created? Will you use such tools if the cost of them is considerably lower?

[Alwaysgreener]

• All parents have the option of signing a photo release, some parents opt out and some opt in, that means one would have to keep the opted out child out of all photos, singling out that child
• It is difficult for a provider to take photos of just your children without getting another child in the background, even in posed pictures another child's arm or leg could enter the photo.
• Having another child, even if it is just a body part or the back of a child, in the photo means not being able to publish or share the photo due to the child still being identified
• Giving you a fuzzy hardcopy of the photo instead of digital makes it harder and decreases the chance for you to post the picture online, especially when there is another child in the background
• In the states, sharing or posting photos of foster kids with out a judges approval is illegal, even if it is just an arm and I legally can not tell you when I have a foster child in care

[Pestle]

I use my iPhone. I watched a YouTube video and learned how to use the camera settings and editing options on that device, so I don't need to use anything else. I take a picture, crop and edit it if necessary, and post it to Brightwheel.

This takes a few seconds and doesn't cost me anything, because I already had the phone and the app. For my use, Brightwheel is free. I pay nothing for it. I would not provide photos to parents if it required anything more from me.

[Blackcat31]

Before "marketing" your software or soliciting any more information from our forum members, please contact the site owner and ask permission to do so. Thank you!
You can find his contact info here: https://forum.daycare.com/member/1-michael

Hi,


My questions:
* What do you think about sharing photos and videos with parents in general?
* What do you think about the solution that I have created? Will you use such tools if the cost of them is considerably lower?

I snap pictures now and then but I don't really set aside time in my day to send them to specific parents. I simply don't have the time to do this on an individualized basis and I certainly don't want to entertain the idea of sending pictures of other kids to parents that aren't theirs. kwim? Too much of a breach of privacy for my comfort level.

That said I do get written permission from parents to take photos but I usually share them only during special occasions and usually by posting them on the private parent section of my website.

IF I were to take photos of children for parents during the day on a regular basis, I would not want to have to pay for doing so.
If parents want pictures (IF I did take them regularly) the cost should be on them not me.

[Farid]

Thanks for your respond. I contacted Michael before posting here. He suggested that I send a post and ask my questions.

And you also mentioned very good points about privacy. That's very important for us (as parents) as well.

[Blackcat31]

@Farid
Awesome! Glad you were in contact with Michael 🙂
Yes, privacy is definitely a big concern

[Cat Herder]

I use a parent communication App that keeps them informed all day long to include photos, milestones, educational/self-help needs, etc.

[flying_babyb]

we use brightwheel. Our center isnt as concerned about another child being in the photo and often send photos of the children and there friends. in fact today we sent out our "attempt" at a class photo with 8 toddlers..... YEP! that was fun!

[Clairie]

It's definitely better to share digital photos rather than printed in bad quality.

[Snowmom]

I use my own password protected website to communicate info and pictures/videos. I don't pay for that website but I do pay for my main website that has photos of my environment with no faces showing except for paid images.

Most of the providers I know either use Brightwheel or a private Facebook group to share pictures and info.

If your daycare isn't communicating regularly in some capacity, then I would take issue with that and find a new provider. If pictures are important to you in a daycare service, then definitely communicate that. In this day/age, it's not an uncommon request.