Branson Police Department reminds parents about back-to-school picture safety

BRANSON, Mo. (KY3) -The Branson Police Department is reminding parents about back-to-school picture safety.

Back-to-school boards are a classic and fun way to kick off the school year. However, authorities say you can easily share too much if you’re not careful. Branson Lieutenant E.J Jones says this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t capture special memories on your child’s first day of school. You should do so in a way that doesn’t put them in danger on social media.

”Sometimes parents, whenever we do our online banking or any business we conduct online, we like to have passwords we can remember,” said Jones. “Sometimes they use their children’s names.”

He says revealing personal information about your child can be used by predators, scammers, and others looking to endanger your child, family, or finances. To stay safe, police say there are a few things you should leave off.

“Everything from descriptors, to dates of births, to maybe even their teacher’s name,” said Jones. “Things like that, that people can look at and readily identify their children.”

Branson Superintendent Dr. Brad Swofford says the safety of their students is always a top priority. He thinks the reminder from the police department is just an added benefit for parents.

”Just to be aware, particularly with social media,” said Swofford. “We certainly have great intentions about what we want to do and highlighting our kiddos at times. “But, likewise want to protect them as well.”

Police say that if you have already added this information to your child’s back-to-school boards or photos, you can blur or cross out any sensitive information before posting to social media.

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