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There are times when freezing is a good thing, such as frozen pizza, ice cream and tundra. Add credit reports to the list.

Thanks to the Child Credit Protection Act, Wisconsin parents can now authorize a credit bureau to create and instantly freeze a credit record for their children.

This locks a child's credit record until the age of 16, so criminals can't steal a child's identity and create their own fraudulent accounts.

"A child's Social Security number is uniquely valuable to thieves," said Sandy Chalmers, division administrator for trade and consumer protection in a news release from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

"That is why it's so important Wisconsin parents take advantage of this new protection," Chalmers said.

To sign up, contact each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, to create and freeze reports for your kids.