Why We Can't Be Camera-Shy

The past few years, whenever a camera is raised, I duck. Or quietly slink out of the room. Why? The full explanation is in a previous post, but let's just say I do not like the way my after-baby body looks.

Then a thunderclap, in the form of a link sent by a friend to a recent Huffington Post article, jolted me into a new perspective.

The author of the article --herself a mother of a couple of wee ones-- ponders what sort of message we send our children when we absent ourselves from our family's photographic memory for a number of years (or longer) because of our own self-perceived lack of visual appeal.

What does such self-censorship tell our girls, and our boys? Better yet, what are we telling our children when we joyfully participate in on-camera memory making, complete with extra heft, a few more chins, droopy lids, birds-nest hair and mismatched wardrobe?

The answer to that question, my friends, is what I'm going to keep in mind the next time a camera comes out. (I'll let you know if I get cold feet.)

What do you think?