Did you know…a recent study shows a child’s fingerprint does not age?
According to recent studies, the latest research from the field of biometrics reveals the fingerprints of children, even infants, have distinguishing marks that can be identified years later. Previously, it was believed that fingerprints taken at such a young age were unreliable.
Thanks to advances in technology, fingerprints from children as young as six months old are recognizable with an accuracy of up to 98.9 percent. There are multiple real-world applications of this new finding, including tracking and recording a child’s vaccination history in developing countries and identifying a child in the case of a possible kidnapping.
911 Kids Club adds a child’s fingerprint to the ID cards we provide at the events we attend around Puget Sound. The fingerprint is not kept on file or in a database of any sort. It is solely used on the ID cards as an additional tool for first responders to use in the event of a missing child. We do not collect a fingerprint for ID cards ordered online.
While fingerprints keep the same pattern, they get bigger as the child grows. External factors can change your child’s fingerprint. For instance, cuts or burns that go below the epidermis can change the pattern. That’s why it’s a good idea to get a new fingerprint each time you get new ID cards for your children.