0  | 

I found this helpful Thank You! Your vote will be tallied soon!

Posted Friday January 14, 2011 by Jackie Morgan MacDougall

Wherever I go, there he is. He's practically run my family down in Target's parking lot, cut off other vehicles on the road and parked three cars away from me at the supermarket. I may not know this man, just one of 270,000 people who live in the same community, but I do know what he does for a living, where he shops for food and what he looks like, all because he cruises around town in an vanity-plated SUV.

Now let's imagine this person isn't a big, larger-than-life outspoken guy (like I said, I've seen him A LOT) but a mother of three little ones... or a teenage girl. Is that same identifiable license plate a safety risk? Or what about those student of the month stickers with the school name, or even the family stick figure decals displaying everyone's name, including new puppy Spot -- is personalizing our ride driving us right into danger?

As parents, most of us seem to be pretty aware when protecting our family on the Web. I know plenty of people who refuse to be on Facebook or share photos via the Internet, some even question my decision to blog, arguing that it could turn my family into an online target. But some of those same people have no problem bringing kids to Disneyland wearing school-identifying jackets or athletic shirts revealing first and/or last names, something I'm not all that comfortable with. In fact, I'm such a worrywart when it comes to public places, I am also known to dress my kids similarly (at least in the same color) so I can remember what they were wearing in case we are somehow separated.

Am I just a neurotic freak? (Seriously, I am still "not ready" to drop my first grader off using the student/parent supervised valet line.) Apparently, the answer is yes... and no. Certified child safety educator Pattie Fitzgerald says, "Every parent has the right to decide how much feels risky or not risky." But while she may not judge me, she also doesn't hold onto some of the same concerns I do, and neither does Officer Robert Bean, who has seen a lot during his 10 years on the force.

"My personal opinion is that identifying marks on vehicles, stickers, school info and such are not a big deal for most of the public. Car seats, stuffed animals, DVD players and such can tell you if the family has kids and an approximate age and gender of the kids." Of course, if someone in the family is or works with someone more high-profile, Bean suggests skipping the vehicle personalization.

As for Fitzgerald, whose provides tips to parents on her site Safely Ever After, "a modicum of privacy is a good idea." Fitzgerald says, "To have your family's name blasted on the back of the car, not only are we talking child safety but there's also identity theft. In this day and age, people are accustomed to telling everybody everything about them; where we are and what we're doing all the time."

Something Officer Bean thinks is a bigger problem. "People don't realize what personal information they are putting out there for others to use. The Department of Defense had a great article about "geo-tagging" (where your phone's camera tags where you take a photo with GPS coordinates) and the dangers with it. You are essentially leaving a trail for someone to follow you and your routine. So that innocent photo of your kids you upload to Facebook can give someone the GPS location of you home." But there is a way to protect yourself. "The good thing with geo-tagging is you can turn off the GPS feature on most phones to keep it from tagging your location."

As for those personalized jerseys and backpacks, Patti says when kids are old enough to be out by themselves, (i.e. walking home or at the mall), skip 'em. "With that identifying name on the back of the jersey, it's easy for someone who doesn't know them to blur that familiarity boundary. If kids are approached in a very friendly way, their caution radar isn't going to go up very quickly -- that one is much more risky."

Common sense (sometimes not all that common) and a support system is the best way to protect yourself and your family. Officer Bean has three tips to live by...

Trust Your Gut Humans are some of the best security systems. If something seems wrong or strange check it out, ask questions or call the police because something is wrong. Don't just pass it off as nothing. It obviously caught your attention for some reason, so figure out why it's not right.

Be Neighborly Get to know someone close by so if something is wrong, your kids have a neighbor you trust and they can go to.

May the Force Be with You Introduce your kids to the police officers or deputies that work in you town. Bean says, "Parents do this with firefighters but the police have this scary factor around them, but kids have to have trust with the local law enforcement in your town so they feel open enough to approach the officers and talk to them."

As for me, I'm sure my worrying days will eventually die down... probably just as my kids enter the teen years and really freak me out.

What do you do to keep your family safe?



Jackie Morgan MacDougall is a TV-executive turned parenting blogger who lives a crazy life with her husband and three small kids. Her dreams of climbing the corporate ladder have been replaced by the dream of one day having a nap. You can find more of her musings at The Silver Whining.

Related Articles on Family.com:

Keep Kids Safe without Scaring Them