We moved not long ago. And while we were doing that, I came across box after box of photos. That's what we did in the olden days. We managed our raw film carefully and then got all 36 frames of film printed. Looked at them lovingly. If we were very organised, we'd even sort them into albums.

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But just flicking through un-albumed photos was one of the great joys of parenting. Look! There they are at the swimming carnival. Look! There they all are naked in the bathtub. Look! There they are on the way to their first formal.

And as I was tempted to divert myself from the real business of packing, I found the school photos. The best and most glorious distraction. There are our three kids at various ages and stages, all lining up with their classmates at various ages and stages. Here are the kids, tumbling from the sweet and simple, to year 10 and beyond. Those teen faces look out, neither sweet nor simple.

But a helluva lot sweeter and simpler than any teen can be now - news this week that one of Australia's largest childcare providers has banned class photos. It cited child safety concerns.

Child safety concerns because of school photos. I mean, seriously, this is shocking.

Goodstart Early Learning, which has more than 660 centres across Australia, issued a statement which said:

"Until we can be certain that every photography session is conducted by a photographer who has strict controls on the storage and security of photographs of children, we won't be allowing commercial photography in our centres."

When I first read the story, I wondered what the hell was going on. I thought, major overreaction. And then I asked the deputy director of the Australian Cybercrime Observatory, Tim Cubitt.

Cubitt, associate professor at Adelaide University, has kids of his own. He doesn't allow his own children to be part of school photos. Not the sports carnival. Not the........

© Canberra Times