Is It Bad to Take So Many Pictures of My Kid?

This story was originally published on Oct. 30, 2019 in NYT Parenting.

[Editor’s note: We asked readers to send us their most pressing questions about parenting in the digital age for a new column called “Ask NYT Parenting.” In this edition, a mother asks about the ramifications of continually documenting our children.]

I take photos and videos of my kid all the time. She loves seeing herself on the screen. Will this affect her sense of self and make her too image-conscious in the future?

— Luxana Kirati, Bangkok

Parents, like most people in the digital age, are relentless photographers. We’re rarely without a camera, so we document nearly every moment, accumulating thousands of images of our children.

But sometimes there’s a nagging worry, much like the one Ms. Kirati described: Should we be taking so many pictures? How should we use them? Will our children become more…