How to Make a Child Identification Kit

As parents, we're often keenly aware of all the dangers our world presents. Watching your child trot up the sidewalk headed to school all on their own - because of course they're big enough to do it on their own (whether we believe it or not) - can be an experience fraught with anxiety.

One of the things that parents find to also be true is that actually doing something - any kind of action - can do more to alleviate fears than giving into the fear and locking our kids in their room with a pitt bull guarding the door.

Identification kits have become a very useful tool. Not only do they allow you to actively work toward keeping your child safe, you're taking action against your own worries. If the worst were to happen and your child go missing, the information kept in an identification kit can help officials bring your child home quickly and safely.

The problem is that most companies selling identification kits like to prey on our parental fears. They know that we're willing to pay any price to increase our childrens' safety and they are happy to really charge us for it.

There's no need to pay for a kit. Here's how to create one yourself, for nothing more than the cost of a little time preparing it.

Identification Kit: How-To

To get started, you'll only need a few things: this guide, a printer with ink and paper, a 3-ring binder, several manila envelopes, and a couple of ziplock baggies. What we're going to do is create the pages first, print them, and arrange them in a 3-ring binder for you to use and update as needed.

These pages can be typed up in any word processor. Make them as simple or as fancy as you like - it's about your child's safety, not beauty.

We're going to need 7 pages. In order, these will be: Cover sheet, Identification Information, Parent/Guardian Information, Records, Photo Sheet, Fingerprints, and Hair Sample.

Cover Sheet - The cover sheet doesn't need to be anything fancy. It should contain your child's name (especially important if you have more than one child, to keep everything organized), and the last date the kit was updated.

Identification Information - This is one of the most important pages in the kit. On this page, you will need to provide the following information: School/Daycare provider (name, address, and phone numbers); Child's friends (names, addresses, and phone numbers); Birthdate; Sex; Blood type; Height; Weight; Eye color; Hair color; Skin color; Race; Scars, birthmarks, and other identifying features (glasses, braces, piercings, etc.); Allergies; Chronic illnesses; Current medications.

Below this information, include a quick note about any nicknames your child uses, and place a copy of their state identification card.

Parent/Guardian Information - On this page, you will want to include full name(s), addresses, and home/work/cell phone numbers for anyone with custody of your child. Below this information, add the same information for at least 2 emergency contacts.

Records - For safety's sake, you'll want to keep an official copy - not the original - of records that can help locate your child more quickly. The easiest way of organizing this information is to place the copies inside a manila envelope directly behind the Records page.

On the records page, include the name(s) and phone number(s) of your child's doctor, pediatrician, dentist, and any other medical professionals they might see. Also include the number to your local police department for your own reference.

In the envelope, place a copy of the following records: Birth Certificate, Immunizations, Medical and School Records. If you have a video of your child - kept updated - this can be really helpful in finding your child quickly and can be placed in the envelope as well.

Photo Sheet - Color photographs are essential. These should be updated once every six months, to stay as current as possible (without going overboard). The photo sheet can be compiled from printed photographs much like a photo album page (or even using a photo album page that will fit in your 3-ring binder), or they can be printed directly from your computer. Include shots of your child's face, as well as them in natural settings (playing, sleeping, etc.).

Fingerprints - This page will be best if done as a cover sheet, listing where you took your child to have their fingerprints taken, the date they were taken, and any information you think important. Then, place the official fingerprint sheet you're given in another manila envelope behind the fingerprints page.

If you're comfortable doing fingerprints yourself, you can keep your child's prints updated once a year (scars will affect fingerprints) and place them directly on the fingerprints page.

Hair Sample - On the hair sample page, list your child's hair characteristics - is it curly? What color is it? What length do they wear it? Then, take a sample of your child's hair. This sample needs to be 25 or so strands of hair that include the root (yup, you're going to have to pull it a couple strands at a time). Don't touch the root of the hair. Place these strands in a ziplock baggie and staple the baggie to the hair sample page.

Once your pages are ready and filled out, print them and compile all the pieces in your 3-ring binder. Remember to update the complete kit about once a year, so that any new or important information doesn't get neglected.

Not up to the task of typing all the pages from scratch? HP has a good child identification kit in a small booklet format that you can print for free, and while it isn't as in-depth as the information in this guide, it will provide a good start.