Do you engrave your driver’s license number, your Social Security number, or your address on your most precious possessions? Do you make sure that all of your important insurance papers, your will, or the deed to your house is in a fire-safe or safe deposit box in order to protect them?

If you have a family and children these things are important.

Now for a tougher question: Do you have all the information that the authorities would need to find your child if he or she turned up missing while you’re reading this very article? Because it can happen that fast.

In the blink of an eye, your most precious resource and the person you love most can vanished.

What do you have available to provide the authorities to assist them in recovering your loved ones?

Odds are you’re at a loss for words. The reason for this is that even though we hear the terrible stories on the news from time to time, we don’t listen. We don’t digest this material and apply it internally. We assume that our family is exempt. We assume that things like that simply couldn’t happen to us.

Unfortunately, this fallacy has cost many families an unbearable price. Many have lost their children forever.

So what are some of the things that you should have available for the authorities, a police officer, or a private investigator? 

You’ve been given a false sense of security by the child I.D. card salesmen out there. You know the guys, they’re either going door to door, or sitting at a small folding table in the middle of the mall where, for $20, you can buy what you think is some protection for your child. Realistically, you’ve probably just thrown your money away.

The truth of the matter is that not one missing child has ever been located based on the fingerprint kits that are so popular. Not one child has been located via the mini I.D. cards with the quarter-inch barely recognizable photograph.

Let me tell you what you do need. There are two things at the top of the list when considering a missing child, especially one that’s turned up missing within the last few minutes or hours. The number one thing is A RECENT PICTURE, preferably within the last month. If you’re not taking a photograph of your child every month you’re doing them a disservice should they ever end up among the lost. They grow right before our very eyes and we don’t notice every small jaunt. The picture from his or her last sitting for the school photographer almost a year ago is not going to be enough in most cases. 

You’ll also need a description of the clothes that your child was last seen wearing. Ask yourself right now if you know what your child was wearing when he or she left this morning to go to school. Can you describe what color each piece was? It’s okay if you answered no, because many parents are not able to offer these descriptions.

An investigator requires facts. If he doesn’t have the facts and the eventual location of your child becomes more difficult as the accessible materials and information diminish, then he may not be able to solve your case.

So practice every day. Each morning make a mental note of what your child is wearing as he walks out of the door. In no time at all it will become second nature. If the time comes, you’ll almost automatically be able to describe what your child is wearing, down to the color of his shoelaces.

There are other things that the police are going to want and need, especially if the case becomes ongoing. These things are not pleasant because of the conclusion that goes with them, but they are necessary items that belong in every child identification kit. These items are a copy of the latest dental records available to you, and small samples of hair and fingernails in the event that either a dental comparison or genetic testing are required for identification.

Although these actions may involve morbid and unpleasant thoughts, sticking your head in the sand like an ostrich will not protect your child. Taking these actions is worthy of consideration, as they will help your family if one of your children is missing for an extended time.