This is a question that parents ask in 2011 as the enigma of Missing Kids in America is pervasive. We read about it, we see it on TV and on the Internet. Parents, caregivers, and family members need to know that 800,000 children younger than 18 go missing each year; almost 2,000 children are reported missing every day.  It's a stunning fact that, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), 200,000 children have been abducted by family members. 58,000 children have been abducted by non-family members and 115 children have been the victims of kidnapping by someone the child either does not know or knows only slightly.

It's my guess that every parent or guardian has, at some point in their parenthood, not known where a child we are responsible for has gone for a few seconds, up to a minute or longer.  The panic that spreads over a parent when a child goes missing can be a terrible experience. Thinking clearly when a child disappears, even for a short time, is difficult.  To minimize a fraction of the panic, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides this list of tips,[1] things that a parent can do in advance to prepare in case a child would go missing:

• Keep a complete description of your child on hand.
• Take color photographs of your child every six months.
• Have your dentist prepare and maintain dental charts for your child, and be sure they are updated each time an examination or dental work is performed.
• Know where your child's medical records are located. Keep copies.
• Arrange with your local law-enforcement agency or school to have your child fingerprinted and keep the fingerprints in a safe, easily accessible place.
• Keep a DNA sample from your child, like an old toothbrush or a lock of their hair in a brown envelope licked closed by your child stored at room temperature in a dry, easily accessible place that is far away from heat.

What should you do if your child does go missing?

• Don't wait! Act immediately.
• Search your home and check with relatives, neighbors, and friends to try and locate your child.
• If you cannot find your child, immediately report your child missing to your local law-enforcement officers.
• Limit access to your home until law-enforcement officers arrive and are able to collect information and evidence.
• Give law-enforcement officers all the information they request about your child, and be sure to give them any information that could help in the search.
• Request that your child's name and identifying information be immediately entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Missing Person File.
• You may also call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST^® (1-800-843-5678) to find out what resources are available to you.