I want you to know that I see you.

Holding your babe, looking into their beautiful eyes. Noting their cheeks. Letting their pudgy fingers hold — tightly — onto yours.

I see you.

You cringe.

Just for a split-second.

Not because you're judging.

And not because your own notifications aren't dinging away in your back pocket.

They definitely are.

But because this is the world we live in now.

This is the world that your baby lives in now.

A world where people are waaayyyy more likely to be looking into their phone screens than each other's — or their children's — eyes.

This what I know to be true about that, and about you.

Right inside this letter that I wrote for you.

This is a BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) post designed to show you, dear parent of a newly minted tween #passthecoffee, exactly what IS and is NOT private on Instagram.

Consider this your Instagram privacy settings cheat sheet.

You're welcome. :)

Ready to roll up your sleeves and dig in? 

Truth time? This is — absolutely — the Cliff's Notes answer to this loooaaadddeeeddd question.

Because every once in awhile, us moms of tweens need SOMETHING to be simple + straight-forward.

Puberty, homework, team tryouts, and friendship woes are NOT that.

But this answer? So is.

In order to know when your child is ready for their own phone or device you need "yes-es" to 5 questions.

I lay each of these out for you right inside this blog post.