One of the biggest fears a parent might face while on vacation, especially to a foreign country, is losing their children.

It can happen in the blink of an eye and is terrifying to say the least.

When I was a child, my parents took me to the Los Angeles County Zoo. What captured my interest the most that day was not a ferocious lion or jumping monkeys. Rather, it was a wildfire in the adjacent hills. I simply walked over to get a better look, not bothering to check with mom or dad. The next thing they knew - I was gone!

Fortunately, a security guard found me and I was safely reunited with my parents later that day.

But what if I had not been found that day?

As a parent, one thing I do to protect my kids is take a digital photo of them.

Whenever we go someplace where there are large crowds and it is easy to lose sight of my kids, such as an amusement park, I take a digital photo before we enter. Should I lose sight of them, a digital photo can quickly be provided to police and other searchers showing them exactly what my kids looked like and what they were wearing when they disappeared. I have three sons, so I have them pose next to each other but with a little bit of space in between them. This way, a single photo can be easily edited to show only one child. Another thing to remember is to have the children stand next to one parent or a fixed object so an accurate height can be determined. When you are in a panic you are not thinking clearly. It might be difficult to rememebr how tall the nurse said your child was on his or her last doctor's visit. A digital camera with a removeable storage drive is best. This is easier to give to the police than the whole camera.

Finally, if you are on an extended vacation and you have Internet access, e-mail the photo to yourself. This way, should you lose your camera, you still have the photo.

Points to remember:

• Digital photo
• Removeable memory
• Space children apart for easy photo editing
• Have children stand next to one parent or a fixed object as a reference for size
• e-mail photo to yourself.