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"Baby on Board"

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fisherofmengirly

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What are those signs for on cars?

Paul and I saw one coming home from a festival this weekend and he made the comment that he thought they were stupid, because people aren''t going to slow down just because they see a yellow caution sign suction cupped to a car.

I looked at him like he was nuts and told him the signs are for emergencies, like if you were in an accident, so first responders would know to look for a baby.

He''s sure it''s for speeders to beware and drive like they have sense around cars containing babies. I think it''s for first responders.... Does anyone know what the signs are actually for?

(Admittedly, even though these were more popular in the 90''s, I''m hopin to have one just for the sake of boasting I''m a mother!! But then I also heard that they can also be like welcome signs to abductors, so I don''t know what I"ll end up doing.)

Does anyone here have one? Or not have one for a specific reason?
 

Mara

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lol its so funny this comes up becuase i was just writing about a generational speaker we had in a corporate seminar a year ago.

they were popular in the 80''s and 90''s and the speaker said that was the first generation that children were supposed to be treated like ''precious cargo'' by everyone around them....aka ''baby on board'' was supposed to let people know you had a baby in there so people around you SHOULD be more careful w/driving.

now whenever i see that sign i think of that speaker and have to laugh.
 

fisherofmengirly

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Aww man, Mara, I guess Paul was right.

Still, I''ve yet to see anyone slow down for having seen one on the road.
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Do you have one?
 

Mara

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Nooo I don''t have one.

Even if I had maybe wanted to get one (I did think about it at some point like ... hmm does this make it safer to drive with him??)... literally every time I see them I think about that speaker and how she felt it was presumptuous to expect people to drive better because they are around YOUR car with YOUR kid in it. Which I think she had a point on!!

Plus I figure people can see the carseat handle in back of the car and they can act accordingly if they so desire.

But I think my Mom had one for my sisters back in the 80''s hehe.
 

Mandarine

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FISHER!
I saw the post name and immediately thought you had some news to share!!!!!. I''m sure you will have news soon :)
I think those signs are just so silly!
 

Kay

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Sorry, I agree with Paul too. I think those signs are silly and do not have one in my car. Of course, I can''t stand having any type of decal or bumper sticker on my car either. I figure people will drive like jerks no matter what.
 

elrohwen

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Date: 4/26/2010 2:39:15 PM
Author: Kay
Sorry, I agree with Paul too. I think those signs are silly and do not have one in my car. Of course, I can''t stand having any type of decal or bumper sticker on my car either. I figure people will drive like jerks no matter what.
Ditto. I figure first responders will see the carseat and know there''s a little one in there. And those signs are almost always displayed on the back of the car where other drivers will see, not on the window where the baby is sitting. DH and I always make fun of cars that have them because, as Mara said, it seems presumptuous to expect other people to give your car more room since you have a kid in it.
 

sunnyd

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I think it was Jim Gaffigan who had a joke about those signs. It was something like "well I was going to run you off the road and over that cliff, but since you have a baby on board, I won''t". I totally ruined the joke
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but that was the gist.
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Prana

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Ha! I never even thought of it that way! I just thought it was a cute little yellow sign to let everyone know you were either pregnant, or had a kid in your car.

haha.
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swingirl

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I think they became popular when car seats became the law. The idea was that if there was a car accident people would be alerted to a strapped-in baby out of the driver''s reach. But it really became a Soccer Mom''s badge of courage.
 

Laila619

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I always thought like Paul, that they were meant for other drivers to take more care when driving near your car.
 

Pandora II

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The best one of those kind of signs I ever saw was:

''Caution, Show Dogs In Transit''
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The trend round here is for ''Princess on Board'' and ''Cheeky Monkey on Board'' of which I think
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Mrs Mitchell

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My best friend's dad was a firefighter- he used to hand these signs out at safety events, along with signs for kids' bedroom doors "Attention firefighters, there are X number of children sleeping in this room."

They were originally intended to alert emergency services to the child in the car. The original signs that he used to hand out (like, 30 years ago) were only to be displayed when the child was actually in the car and removed when they weren't. He is really irritated by a)cutesy versions and b) signs on display but no child in the car. They were supposed to be used for children old enough not to need a carseat, I think.

I like the idea of the sign for the bedroom door - it can save valuable minutes in a fire if the firefighters can go straight to where kids are sleeping. Again, the sign is to be removed if the kid isn't there and the number on it could be changed for sleepovers etc.
 

fisherofmengirly

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I never thought of it as someone saying their kid(s) were the be-all and end-all..... Interesting what a sign can mean to so many people, isn''t it?

Oh Mandarine, I didn''t even think about that topic making people think I was pregnant! Sorry to disappoint... I wouldn''t start my own thread to announce that, I''d go straight to my home.... TTC.
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(And I''d probably message my FB buddies from here, too! So you won''t be outta the loop, girl!!)
 

fisherofmengirly

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Date: 4/26/2010 5:35:05 PM
Author: Mrs Mitchell
My best friend's dad was a firefighter- he used to hand these signs out at safety events, along with signs for kids' bedroom doors 'Attention firefighters, there are X number of children sleeping in this room.'

They were originally intended to alert emergency services to the child in the car. The original signs that he used to hand out (like, 30 years ago) were only to be displayed when the child was actually in the car and removed when they weren't. He is really irritated by a)cutesy versions and b) signs on display but no child in the car. They were supposed to be used for children old enough not to need a carseat, I think.

I like the idea of the sign for the bedroom door - it can save valuable minutes in a fire if the firefighters can go straight to where kids are sleeping. Again, the sign is to be removed if the kid isn't there and the number on it could be changed for sleepovers etc.
My parents totally had these stickers for our bedroom windows; and I wil totally be putting one on the side window in our baby's room when the time comes. The fire dept. still gives them out, at least the ones here do.

The window stickers didn't peel off to be changed with the number of kids in the room, though.... I
 

Mrs Mitchell

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The signs for the door were metal, and screwed to the actual door. The numbers hung on a little hook in the middle of the sign, and I think you got 1 - 6 or something.

I wonder if they still have them. I remember my friend and her sisters all had one when they were kids.



ETA I just did a search, and it looks like the window stickers are no longer recommended http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/SafetyGuide/sg_fire_w002.asp

I wonder if that would apply to the door signs too.
 

Kay

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I just Googled the window decals, because I thought that sounded like a good idea, but most of the websites that came up discourage the use of "tot finder" window decals. Here is an excerpt from the City of Santa Monica website:

"Window Decals of Little Value

Parents are often surprised...and disappointed...when they receive a lukewarm response from their local fire department when inquiring about a fire-rescue decal for their children''s bedroom window. Surely, they reason, the fire department should be interested in locating children or invalids that need help. Recently, pet-finder stickers are being distributed by a citizen-concerned agency. Neither child-invalid decals nor pet decals for windows are supported by the Southern California Public Education Committee, Fire Prevention Officers'' section of the California Fire Chiefs'' Association.


Initially, the idea sounds great. In practice, decals have presented the fire service with more problems than solutions. Fire Departments generally feel a far better alternative to decals is installation of an approved smoke detector along with a family fire escape plan.


So, what''s wrong with decals? An average family moves to a different home about every five years. When a home changes hands, room occupants also change and a decal may no longer designate a child or invalid. And, as a family increases and children grow up, there is often a shifting of inhabitants, again leaving the decal meaningless.


A more ominous disadvantage has been discovered by the police. Decals can be an invitation to a burglar to break in at that point since he would be unlikely to encounter strong physical opposition.


Rescue is of foremost concern to firefighters. Firefighters are trained to make a thorough and systematic search for those inside a burning building. They know that unless taught differently, some children hide from fire under beds, in closets, or behind furniture that may not even be in their room. And what about the beloved family pet? Most often the pet has intelligently left the premises as soon as it smells the endangering smoke. No one wishes for a firefighter or family member to endanger his or her life searching for a pet in a burning building, but firefighters have been seen carrying pets to safety when necessary.


Children stand a much greater chance of surviving a house fire if they have participated in a family fire escape plan. Parents need to teach their children to get out of the house when a smoke detector sounds. Parents may not be able to reach their children in the event of a fire, so the child''s life may depend on parental instructions to avoid hallways filled with smoke and intense heat, and to escape through a window or other exit. The family should practice two escape routes and meeting outside at a previously designated spot away from the house."


So there is a concern that burglars or child predators will use the window decals to determine which rooms contain sleeping children.
 

fisherofmengirly

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Thanks for posting those sites and articles.... Food for thought, for sure.

Those are valid points.... It''s too bad that people wouldn''t remove the stickers if they moved into a home previously housing children in rooms that no longer are, though.

I still think we''ll get the sticker for our baby''s room.... If it was on the first floor, I wouldn''t, but the bedrooms are upstairs and there''s a basement/garage, too. I doubt a burglar would be able to gain entry from a the height of a third floor.

How sad that things intended for SAFETY to children are seen as OPPORTUNITY for criminals!! Geesh...
 

Laila619

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I've also read that you shouldn't put up those big stork signs in your yard that announce the gender when your baby is born, as it can invite loonies to try to steal the baby. Crazy!
 

Mrs Mitchell

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Sad, isn''t it.

I suppose given the straight choice, I''d pick burglary over housefire though. Still, I have smoke detectors every three or four inches, battery back up hardwired and regular battery ones too. Plus carbon monoxide detectors and I''m looking into a domestic sprinkler system.

Actually, we were burgled. I lost a few precious things, but I also lost a whole heap of ugly crud and we got a cheque for it. You could not have given this stuff away wrapped in banknotes, so on balance I wasn''t heartbroken to get paid for it...
 

anchor31

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Funny, they are still very popular in Quebec and a lot of people have them. DH thinks it''s stupid too and I have no opinion, so we don''t have one. I was talking about this to a colleague a couple of years ago, and she said she was more careful around those cars because she expected the drivers (parents) to be more distracted on the road. I thought in was an interesting point, however I wouldn''t want people to start justifying poor driving because they are dustracted by their kid(s).
 

fisherofmengirly

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Date: 4/26/2010 6:17:52 PM
Author: Laila619
I''ve also read that you shouldn''t put up those big stork signs in your yard that announce the gender when your baby is born, as it can invite loonies to try to steal the baby. Crazy!
I''ve heard that too, and isn''t it ridiculous??? Around here, the big thing is to put the bow from the hospital on your mailbox, and we''ll certainly do that. If we lived in an area that wasn''t a safe neighborhood, we''d probably re-think that, but man... there''s just got to be some sort of tradition that you keep up and enjoy, you know?

(And I do know that there are perverts and pedophiles everywhere.... We''re at the end of a culde-sac in the back of part of a neighborhood so we don''t get a lot of traffic. Really, all the cars we see are the same every day. Except for the pizza delivery guy who comes to the neighbor three or four times a week.... that car changes every now and then.)

I guess a lot of it just depends on where you live. But I so wish that everyone was afforded the opportunity to put the bow out! That wasn''t something that was done where I grew up, but I''ve grown fond of it and Paul''s parents did the bow with him and I think it''s really cute.... Although when I think about it, I guess no one really cares unless they know you. But.... I do see the bows and think of the baby and say a prayer for the family and the new life they''re raising. I don''t know... It''s weird, but not, I guess, to display your baby''s been born.)
 

fisherofmengirly

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Ms. Mitchell,

In GA, if you have a garage under the first floor, it''s code that sprinklers are installed. I find that so odd... shouldn''t they be everywhere, if it''s "code?" I''ve not looked into it, but I wonder if most fires start in garages. Weird.
 

Haven

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Date: 4/26/2010 3:23:12 PM
Author: sunnyd
I think it was Jim Gaffigan who had a joke about those signs. It was something like ''well I was going to run you off the road and over that cliff, but since you have a baby on board, I won''t''. I totally ruined the joke
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but that was the gist.
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I LOVE JIM GAFFIGAN!!!!
"Caliente pockeeeeet."
 

PumpkinPie

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I always thought they had the same purpose as Paul thinks - I don''t like the signs at all
 

Sha

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I always thought they were for vehicles driving behind yours, so they would know not to be careful and keep a respectable distance.

I've been thinking about getting one...sometimes I'm terrified by the big trucks that drive behind me. But sometimes I have the same thoughts mentioned above - "Will it make a difference, anyway?" or, "Will it make me look like a smug mama?"
 

VRBeauty

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To my mind the "baby on board" signs started popping up when carjackings were gaining popularity... for lack of a better term. So when I see one of those signs, I always think it''s secret code for "don''t carjack or steal my car, or you''ll end up facing a kidnapping charge."

But then, I also read those mom, dad, kids and pets clingies as "see, we really do need this monster SUV, so... so there!".

I guess I''m a little twisted when it comes to signs on cars.

And BTW, don''t get me started on the "my child is an honor student" bumper stickers...
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Mara

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Laila I totally heard that about not advertising you just brought a baby home! Not just for burglary but also kidnapping. So we didn''t do anything and like 2 months later a bunch of our neighbors, who are all older aka gparent age, were saying ''how come you guys didn''t put a sign on the lawn or balloons, we were waiting'' etc. Totally diff mindset for the old timers vs the new age. It IS sad really but honestly we didn''t want to do anything to draw attn to ourselves and our sleep deprived household with its new occupant! Though I am sure our mailman knew since we had all sorts of gifts and bouquets coming.
 
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