Kids' names and cartoon stickers on car windows - Germany

I've noticed that on the back window of many cars, people have stickers of cartoon kids with their kids' names written underneath. They are quite cute but I think announcing your kids' names to the public would be frowned upon in North America. Is this just a German thing and where/ why/ when did it start? Where do you get those stickers made anyways?

We got a couple of such stickers done from http://www.my-baby-shop.com/ and they did a good job with it. The prices were reasonable too. The Sticker was double sided (made it very easy to stick on the car) and the finishing was very good. Their delivery charges were also very reasonable. Will try to take a pic of the stickers and add as a comment.

This has to stop. I don't want and don't need to know if Kevin-Justin-Lars or Chantalle-Jacqueline are defecating into the car infront of me.

I think it's funny and just wonder how it started. Actually, I think I've seen people do it for their dog's names too!

I suppose it's a polite and personalized way of saying Baby on board.

I've never understood the point of these stickers, do people think the other drivers will suddenly drive more carefully when they see that Hansi and Heidi are on board. All they seem to do is block a part of the rear window thus restricting Mama or Papas view out of the car!

Exactly! My number one pet-peeve is those stupid "baby on board" stickers. Hmmm, I was going to ram the car in front of me, but now that I see that they have a kid in there, maybe I shouldn't do it. Bloody pointless in my opinion.

Well I guess the kids aren't old enough yet for their parents to have a "my child is an honor/graduate/brilliant student" sticker on their car or an "i'm proud of my boy/girl scout"

Then you've never been to TX. Ever SUV there has a sticker on the back with a football, a number on it, and the child's name underneath. I always found it odd.

Yes!

I always thought that those with such signs were looking for an excuse to go slower, make abrupt moves, suddenly accelarate..etc because they have the sign and expect people to understand that maybe the kid dropped a juice cup on daddy..etc...or whatever...

I agree with you completely with you. Besides I personally don't feel comfortable when someone's tailgating me when the kids are on board.

But you feel comfortable making your kids' names known to the whole wide world?

Do you have a problem when others know the name of your kid? Why? Is there a mystery there or something hidden?

kanda: kids may be more easily lured by strangers who know the kids' names. They kids will believe that the potential kidnapper is just mommy or daddy's friend.

You don't think there's a contradiction in there somewhere? Children have it drummed into them from day one not to talk to strangers, then not to give out their personal details on the internet, etc., but it's fine for the parents to do so?

Edit: Exactly as Dawn noted above.

I personally have a "Baby on board" Sticker so I am not advertising our childrens' names to the world, but even if someone did, I don't see the problem. I mean it's not that others are forced to read it. and at the end of the day it is *your* car so I don't get it. Some people polish their cars and put those "Fast and Furious" stickers on them while others have the "baby on board" stickers. Besides I'm more worried about how they are going to look after my biometric data they collect at the airports as opposed to the rest of the world knowing my childrens' names.

It is the parents responsibility to teach the kids who they talk to or go with.
as with our kids, they only talk to people who they know.
just because one knows your name does not mean a thing.
Everyone will know the kids' name once they go to the kindergarten.


by the time they can use the internet, they are not kids any more, in my definition.

Must have misread your first post, then.

So do you remove the sticker when they're not on board? Of course you don't, which is why nobody takes a blind bit of notice of them.

You lost me there..

I have no problem if you don't think it is worth it, nor do I use them.
Just mentioned a possible reason why some parents would like them.

It's quite simple: you first wrote that you had such stickers made and then stated that you didn't have any.

If someone really wanted to know the kid's name,the will find it out with or without a sticker. I mean we all know that Kindergartens want you to leave a fresh set of clothes from the kid just in case right ?, well in most cases those clothes are taged with the kids name. This was just a stupid example off the top of my head, and if someone really wanted to know, believe me they will. It is *ALWAYS* up to the parents to teach the children about strangers. Personally if it's only a bloody sticker that saves your children from strangers, then I'm sorry you are doing something wrong.

But that normally doesn't include random strangers in the car behind you or at the shopping centre parking lot.

I'd say you are paraniod!

Don't you call your kids name next time you are in the mall!!
Someone might be watching you...ha ha

I always wanted to put my husbands name on our car window...found that it was much more important for the world to know that he is on the road.
Still plan to do that some day.

Mrs Tom34

The signs were originally designed so that if there was an accident, the emergency personnel would know to look for a baby or a small child in the car and not to leave the scene until it was found. Apparently if children aren't belted in they're likely to end up under the seats or to fall out the window and be somewhere nearby.

They don't work so well because people don't take the signs down when the kids aren't in the car.

I've no idea why anyone would want their kids' names advertised on the car. It does seem weird to me.

I think YOU misread my posts and not the other way round. I do have two such stickers on our cars and I also got some made for some friends of ours ( my first post). Later I said that mine read "Baby on board". Just to make it more clear, I have Cartoon stickers (like it says on the title of the thread") with the text "Baby on board".

Is he such a lousy driver that we should all steer clear?

Spot on !!

llees: thanks, that was very interesting and makes sense.

Ahhh, but a load of crap apparently...according to snopes they were invented to raise driver awareness...which I still think is ridiculous.

That's right. When our kids were small we had removable "Baby on board" signs (the ones with the suction cup) for the car, but I hardly ever see those, everyone seems to use stickers.


Ditto.

Could be the "proud parent" syndrome. Although, why you should be so proud of your ability to copulate is beyond me...

Seems to be a lot of kids called "Abi" on the roads...

Never seen that, but I find them just as useless as 'baby on Board'. What is this meant to mean to me?? I don't care if someone's got a baby in the car. Good for them but doesn't change my driving.

Kay - I think that there is some confusion because Janaka doesn't sound like a native English speaker, and misused the construction of 'such'.

@UA
That's what I thought, too, and decided it was easier to just drop it.

Well I have an England rugby supporter sticker that I contemplated putting in my rear window, thinking maybe other drivers would then be very courteous to my chariot, but I wondered, what if a Scottish/Irish/Welsh/South African/New Zealand/Australian bastard came up behind me

Where can you get these stickers? I want one for my son Schwanz and my daughter Muschi.

Like this?

Watch out!

@FT
Great film, wasn't it? Thanks!

Oops, we're carjacking the thread!

Yup, good movie. And whenever I watch it I like to root for the evil truck driver.

This thread cracks me up! I have always thought those baby on board stickers were silly (even back in the 80's when they first came out). I could not understand exactly what I was supposed to do differently as I hadn't really planned on intentionally hitting any cars. When I moved here and saw the baby names stickers, I had to chuckle. Needless to say, it's one purchase for my children I will not make.

I also hate these "Princess on board" things... especially when it's for some teenage chav driver with pink fluffy steeringwheel cover and play-boy furry dice.