Writing About Your Kids? Set Some Limits

Writers can throw themselves head-first into the nasty, permanent archive that is the Internet—but what of their kids? Emily Bazelon polled writers for Slate and found that while details may differ, the general policy is, the more privacy the better. "The blog medium has a certain kind of immediacy, and a reciprocal surrendering of privacy, that we don't want in our lives forever,” says one writing dad.

Some wordsmiths will only use their kids’ “prehistory” as fodder—that period in their lives before they’re able to start talking and develop firm memories for themselves. For others, age isn’t the issue, but photos and names are always off limits, referring simply to “my child.” Still others run everything by a spousal sounding board. And a few vow to show pieces to their offspring before publication, once the kids are old enough. (More ethics stories.)