Parents are being reminded to talk to their kids about staying safe.

Yesterday was National Missing Children's Day.

Christy Dzikowicz is the director of child protection and family advocacy for the National Centre for Child Protection. She says the simplest way to help keep your kids safe is to practice and reinforce the buddy system.

"It is the absolute number one. And it's something that can't just be a one-time conversation. We say that all the time when we're talking about child safety... you reinforce it over and over and you practice it."

She says the buddy system can take multiple forms, like walking with someone else or having a parent or friend on the phone with you as you walk.

According to the centre, between 1947 and 2010, 68 per cent of child abductions occurred while the child was alone.

Manitoba RCMP Sergeant Bobby Baker with the missing and exploited persons unit says there are slightly fewer than 150 long-term historical missing persons within this jurisdiction. He says police want to provide closure for families.