Don't talk to strangers.

It's a piece of advice most parents give their children, sometimes with visions of milk cartons dancing in their heads.

It's good advice, and with the 25th National Missing Children's Day today, it's a good time to think of other ways to protect your children.

Charlene Takeno, executive of the Missing Child Center-Hawai'i, said stranger abductions are rare — accounting for perhaps 1 percent of the 80,000 missing cases across the nation each year. It's happened only once in Hawai'i since 1985, when 6-year-old Maile Gilbert was abducted and murdered.

Hawai'i's Maile Amber alert to assist safe recovery of missing children is named in honor of Maile and 9-year-old Amber Hagerman whose abduction and murder so outraged her neighbors in Arlington, Texas, that they led what is now a nationwide recovery strategy.

The other similar case was in 2002, when 11-year-old Kahealani Indreginal was taken and slain by her half-sister's boyfriend.

Takeno said parents should tell their children not to be wary only of strangers, but anyone they know who makes them feel uncomfortable. Children need to understand that even if a familiar person wants to take them somewhere, "It's OK to tell them 'no,' that it's OK not to go with them," she said.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is also suggesting parents across the country take other proactive measures.

"This year, we're trying to stress to parents to just tell their children that they love them and they're proud of them," Takeno said.

"If parents don't, others will, and they might not have your child's best interests at heart."

There are also practical measures to take. Since children grow, update their photos and height and weight records regularly so the information will be available in a panicked situation. Keiki IDs are helpful, but only if they're kept current.

The Missing Child Center will be issuing keiki IDs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mililani Wal-Mart.

The keiki ID cards are good to carry around, but for more comprehensive information, parents can complete a keiki ID kit and store it with their records at home.

The kit, which parents should update annually, includes a recent photograph, strands of hair for DNA samples, fingerprints and a dental chart to be completed by your child's dentist. The kit is available online at www.missingchildcenterhawaii.com or by calling 586-1449.

More information on protecting your children is available at the Friends of the Missing Child Center-Hawai'i Web site at www.missingkidshawaii.org.