Names on backpacks?

Big no-no.

I mean, sure, if someone is stalking my kid they know their name... but at least they put some effort into it. But for random strangers to see my son walking around and be able to call him by name. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen. Why make it EASY on perverts?

I just used a sharpie on the inside of my son's bag so if there was any confusion at class/camp/etc... easy fix. ALSO added my cell number, originally to make it easy on the school, so they didn't have to waste time looking up my contact info. Which turned out to be an awesome thing when he left his bag on the public bus. The bus depot gave us a ring, and I picked it up same day. OTW it would have gone into the cavernous lost and found (The worker said they had over 200 backpacks from the past 90 days alone, and that my son's and 2 others were the only ones with contact info. I'm still blown away having spent time in the UK that strange bags are picked up, much less opened. But that's me.)

It's generally a no-no, as you said for the reasons detailed in other posts.
However, I think you need to use situational common sense. My son cannot be taken out of school, unless the person is on his "list" and shows ID. He also walk about a half block from his bus stop to our home while he is watched by myself or my husband, so although I understand the 'logic' it's not really very relevant to us right now.

I write the name on the inside or on the back underside of the strap. No names on tshirts either, or lunchboxes.

I never put my son's name on anything in a location that others could see.
Little ones, we teach them not to go with strangers. But when a stranger calls them by name (which they read off their shirt/backpack/etc) that stranger doesn't seem strange anymore. After all, to a little one, if someone knows their name they must not be a stranger.

So, to me, ixnay on the namay.

Hi Molly, I have a class called SuperKidPower I've been teaching since 1982! So, your question caught my eye. I wanted to see the responses & most are right on ( yeah!). Along with no name on bag, that goes for name bracelets & necklaces. Also, in my opinion, no initials. I've worked for missing children agencies & a bad guys use any info to lure a child. Yelling out J.T. could stop a child for that split second & hesitate. I teach my kids "personal safety lifeskills" for 11 to 14yr olds. It's my favorite age! These kids are in that in between age where parents are not with them and their not driving yet (that's a whole different bunch of lifeskills) or home alone. Knowledge is power, and in this changing world they want to know what to do. Hope that helps! Best, Carol

Wow....I have an almost two yr. old so I guess I haven't thought of this yet. Glad you posted! I had heard that it's a bad idea to put those bumper stickers with your child's sport and name on your car so this too makes alot of sense. I guess you can never be too careful.

I am a big advocate for putting the name on the inside of the bag. I was a bit perturbed to see that someone at school had written my daughter's name on the outside (handle) of her bag. I am sure they did it so that it would be easy to grab it out of the big heap of them at the end of the day but still a bit annoying.

My MIL did get my kids really cute personalized back packs but they don't go to school with them. We use them for times when I am with them or they are going directly into the care of another - ie dance class, babysitter, church nursery, etc.

I put their initials on their backpacks -- nothing else. My daughter only has her first initial on hers... Her choice. It's perfect!
Names are a BAD idea.
LBC

No names! My kids names are inside true back packs and if they tell me someone else has a bookbag like theirs then I buy em a key chain to put on the zipper so they can quickly identify theirs

I put the kids names on the inside of their stuff. Inside their underwear, shoes, on the tags of their clothes, etc...it's no one's business what their name is by looking at them.

Kind of confused why people think noone can know their child's name, to tell the truth. Do you never say "John! Come here RIGHT NOW" in a store? Do you think when kids are walking home that someone is not saying "Sally! Sally! Wait for me!"? Another thing: "bad guys" often hang out where people are playing (sports fields, playgrounds, etc) and they pick up on names there too. Instead of trying (and failing) to hide someone's name, I would suggest different tactics that could hold more weight when you're not around. When I was very young, we lived in Houston and there were some scary incidents. My mom taught me that the ONLY people I could EVER ride home with---or even APPROACH the car---would be mom and dad. Anyone else would have to have our secret family password, and that whoever she gave that password to would know NOT to approach me or get too close to me, but to say what they were supposed to say from a safe distance. One time I was sitting outside school on the corner, waiting for mom. She wasn't there, but there was a white car that looked familiar. She honked the horn, but I didn't budge. She honked again, I didn't move. She rolled down her window and called my name---oh, it was my aunt. But, she needs to say the secret password BECAUSE mom didn't tell me that my aunt was picking me up. I didn't go near, I had to say loudly "You need the password, go call mom". My aunt drove to the payphone at the school and had to call mom who was working late, and ask for the password, then come back and say from the car what it was. I think mom told her not to fuss at me, but I could tell she seemed a little put out, but I got LOTS of praise when I got home....and the new password, lol. Never came up again, so my brother and I still remember it, but didn't have to use it. Teach your children that if they are walking home from school, they need to walk HOME from SCHOOL, not get in the car, even if it is someone they know. So many people have cellphones (including kids) that I don't see this being hard. If they're too young to have a controlled cellphone, then they may be too young to be alone. If another option comes up, they need to phone and ask first. I grew up knowing that if I called, I would probably be rewarded with whatever I wanted to do, but there would be hell to pay if I didn't call and my "plan" changed and I wasn't where I was supposed to be. Teach your children to have confidence, be observant, do some people watching with them and talk about what they see to you. Train them on instincts and let them practice with you. Teach them your safety rules and "test" them when they aren't aware on those rules. Someone told me I shouldn't put those family stickers (the mom, dad, 2 boys, cat) on my car because you don't want people to know you have a little child. I was like right.....like walking past the car and seeing the 2 carseats won't tip them off? Don't get me wrong, my son's bag isn't embroidered. But it isn't because someone can kidnap him by knowing their name (I've told him as much as I talk to him and his brother, and as many activities they're in, the whole world should know his name by now, so that means NOTHING)....it's because his Spiderman backpack doesn't really have a place to do it, I'm too cheap to have it done and I certainly am not going to pick up a needle and thread, and if it is in good shape it'll probably be handed down to his little brother when he gets on his next kick (Star Wars next? Who knows...). We do the hard cover luggage tags that I inserted the emergency / ID cards downloaded from the Red Cross website in there (His name, parent's names and cell numbers, work number, doctor's name and number, allergies, and 2 emergency contacts are all on that folding card. But from the outside, it's just a bright green square).

my kiddos have the LL Bean backpacks with the their names embroidered, BUT my kids don't walk to or from school, they are driven(by me) to and from the front steps of the school, and when we travel by plane, they have character backpacks without their names that they carry.

I worked for a company that sold clothing, shoes, etc. They suggested to us that if a customer wanted to order a backpack with their child's name on it, to suggest that parents put initials or a logo. Having their names on it makes it too easy for a stranger to approach them and call them by name and could easily kidnap or abuse them.

NO, very unsafe. Only thing acceptable is initials or better yet, a piece of clipart which Lands End used to do.

Cheryl, I know it happens! When I was 10 a friend of mine was kidnapped and killed. They always taught us NEVER to have our names on anything. The key chain thing is a good idea though!