Nearly 800,000 children were reported missing in 2002. These startling statistics from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is enough to put any parent on alert. Thankfully, most of these children ran away from home and were returned safely or were taken by a family member or non-custodial parent. Of the total number, only 115 were as a result of a "stereotypical kidnapping."

Even though chances are slim that your child could be a victim of a terrible crime, it does happen, and parents have long been recording their children's identification information in the form of fingerprints – just in case.

Over the last few years, a new way of recording and storing identification for children has become increasingly popular – home DNA kits.

Fingerprint records, available for many years at local fairs, schools and through law enforcement agencies, are just one piece of a good identification kit. Also included should be a current picture of the child and ID cards with descriptions of height, weight and eye color, as well as identifiers such as glasses or braces and any unique birthmarks, moles or scars.

But what if that isn't enough? If the time comes, is that enough information to identify your child? Home DNA kits, in addition to the information above, also record and store a DNA sample from your child, usually in the form of strands of hair with the root attached or a buccal (inside of cheek) swab. If the need to identify your child arises, law enforcement agencies can use this information to extract DNA for positive identification.

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