Vehicle Windows Not the Place to Advertise Your Kids

I’m in the communication business…the information business, actually.  Public relations, advertising and marketing communications involve gathering and dispensing information, as well as knowing and targeting the right audiences.  For communication to be effective, it needs to be open and two-way.  Hiding or misrepresenting information and avoiding or ignoring your audiences can be disastrous.  (BP suddenly comes to mind.)

On the other hand, too much information can be confusing or boring, or can detract from the main point to be made.  What’s even worse, too much information can be harmful and even disastrous.  Therefore, it’s wise to use discretion when dispensing information.

We’re aware of how beneficial social media, blogs and other modern communication channels can be for businesses and individuals.  Then again, we’ve seen in the headlines, or may have experienced personally, the downside of this technology.  Not everyone has the knowledge or discretion to appropriately use these channels.

But forget about mass media channels and cyberspace for the moment.  I recently was given too much information at a very basic level right here on earth.  I was sitting at a red light behind an SUV owned by people who obviously are proud parents.

How do I know they’re parents?  Well, on the back window were the popular stick-figure decals of a man, woman, girl and boy.  But the information didn’t stop there.  Under the stick figures were the words “Dad,” “Mom,” and the names of their two kids.  And that’s not all!  Next to these figures was a decal for an under-6 youth soccer organization.

OK, so these decals are cute to most people, but what do they tell a child molester or someone looking to do harm to the children or family?  A predator who sees these decals now knows the names of the children and that at least one of them is likely under 6 years of age.

Someone with an evil mind could follow the SUV to the family’s home and get the address or to the kids’ school if they’re driven to school.  Then when this person sees the kids outside and no adults are around, he or she could approach them and call them by name…and use soccer as a conversation starter.

Call me an alarmist, if you want, but I do believe that in today’s society people, especially parents of young children, can’t be too careful.  Ironically, parents will have unlisted phone numbers, caller ID or cell phones so people won’t know where they live or be able to call them.  Yet, they’ll drive down the highways proudly displaying their kids’ likenesses and names on the back windows of their vehicles for the whole world to see.

I’m all for communication and proud parents, but this is too much information.

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