A mother of two children based in Qingdao of East China's Shandong Province records family stories with a caricature. Photo: IC

A recent survey shows that 73.5 percent of Chinese parents believe that consent from children should be obtained before parents share children's photos on social media, and 71.2 percent of parents worry that sharing children's photos on social media will leak children's privacy.

The survey conducted by the China Youth Daily among parents who were born between the 1960s to 2000s shows that as many as 78.3 percent interviewed parents share their children's photos on social media. 

A mother of an 8-year-old boy in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province likes sharing photos and short videos of her son's art performances. "My son is my life, and I'd like to share every funny stories of him,??the mother said.

A mother of a 6-year-old in Southwest China's Sichuan Province said "my son wouldn't like me to take his full face photo as he grows elder.??o:p>

According to the survey, more than half of interviewed parents share children's daily life, 43.3 percent parents share children's photos from trips, and 41.6 percent share children's talents.

"I like to see some children's updates shared by their parents on social media, and when my child enters primary school I will allow him to use his own social media account,??said the mother of the 6-year-old. 

The result shows that 39.4 percent post their children's photo online once or twice every week, 21.4 percent parents post once a month and 5.1 percent post once or several times a day. 

Another mother of a 3-year-old girl posts her daughter's photos online to record the stories of her growth. Her husband, a photographer, takes the photos.

However, as many as 73.5 percent of parents believe a consent should be obtained from the children before posting their photos online.

Most parents fear the move could leak children's privacy, more than half of the parents worry their children's location might be exposed, and 49 percent of parents think children's rights might be infringed upon.

There are also 59.7 percent of parents who believe the behavior could lead to vying among parents and 54.6 percent parents think over-sharing would develop to showing off, which imposes pressure on children. Some parents think posting ugly pictures would hurt children's self-esteem.

In order to share children's photos in a more proper manner, 68.2 percent of respondents suggested protecting children's privacy, and 63.7 percent parents suggest posting positive content.