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Parents Issued Urgent Warning Against Using ‘Baby On Board’ Sign In Car
An urgent warning has been issued to parents who have the ‘baby on board’ sign in their car.
Parents today face countless worries when keeping their children safe from online exploitation and bullying.
One everyday habit many people don’t think twice about is now being warned against: displaying ‘baby on board’ signs.
Proud parents often display these signs in the rear windshield of their cars, and they are a common sight in car windows across the US.
In a survey, Confused.com found that 46% of parents had the stickers in their car, regardless of whether the child was in the car or not, reports The Telegraph.
Likewise, 46% of drivers polled said they regarded the ‘baby on board’ signs as a potential hazard.
According to a poll of 2,000 drivers as part of the same study, 1 in 20 motorists said that stickers and children’s car toys are to blame for a collision.
But what is the real meaning behind these signs? And why have parents now been urged against putting them in their cars?
History of the ‘baby on board’ sign
The idea for a ‘baby on board’ sign was sparked in 1984, when former-real estate investor American Michael Lerner was driving his 18-month-old nephew for the first time and acutely noticed how dangerously people were driving.
Not long after, he was introduced to sisters Patricia and Helen Bradley, who had seen a version of the sign in Europe and had tried to market it back in the US, but unsuccessfully.
Michael bought the rights to the product and soon set up the company Safety 1 st.
Within a month of starting, 10,000 ‘baby on board’ signs were sold. The sales soon grew to 500,000 signs a month.
What could the sign mean?
For as long as the signs have existed, people have been divided over debates about the true meaning of ‘baby on board’ signs.
At a literal level, and as Michael Lerner intended, they alert other road users of a small child in the vehicle and encourage them to use more caution when approaching cars with younger passengers.
Many people think the sign exists to signal to emergency services, in the event of a road traffic collision, that there could be a baby or young child in the vehicle.
But there are also some unintended consequences that make these stickers more problematic than protective.
Some people will be surprised to find out that law enforcement officers have advised against calling attention to their children in the car, warning that this could make you and your family a target.
Putting your safety at risk
In a Facebook post, the Allen County Sheriff’s Department asked: “Are you inadvertently putting your household at risk?”
Alongside this, they shared a diagram of how different bumper stickers and signs could be dangerous, insisting people think of whether they’re putting their family’s safety and security at risk.
Next to the ‘baby on board’ sticker, the post explains that this could make others think you are ‘likely distracted and an easy target.’
But that’s not the only reason you should take down your ‘baby on board’ sign.
It could encourage opportunist criminals to target you, as often, having a baby means expensive baby and child items, such as toys, strollers, and other valuable items.
What’s more, these signs could create targets for child trafficking and child predators, adding to parents’ worries for the children.
Attracting the wrong kind of attention
Instead of cooing over the fact that a baby is on board in the vehicle in front, some people could be reading the sticker as signally predictable routines.
Routines like school runs, nursery drop-offs and daily commutes which could mean the house, where the family lives, is empty and an ideal target for thieves.
As seen in a case where thieves targeted cars at childcare centers, which were briefly unlocked while parents dropped their children off.
Some of the cars displayed the ‘baby on board’ signs, which made it easier for offenders to identify which vehicles belonged to parents.
While police did not conclude that the signs alone caused the crimes, they noted that personal identifiers, such as ‘baby on board,’ made certain cars stand out and signaled a routine.
People’s reactions
In a TikTok post, parents were urged to remove ‘baby on board’ signs from their cars if they have them – people commented, voicing their shock.
“I have no words,” one person wrote. “That’s shocking!”
Another said: “Sad but true, there are some scary predators out there, don’t bring attention to yourself.”
One other commenter also emphasized how sad they are, writing: “Very sad world we live in when protecting children is actually potentially making them unsafe.”
“Drives me mad when I see these types of stickers in cars,” one person commented, insisting people should ‘stop advertising [their] kids.’
While these signs were created with good intentions, safety experts have pointed out that anything that reveals personal information or predictable routines can carry risks.
For parents hoping to keep their children as safe as possible, they should think twice and take down their ‘baby on board’ signs.
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