Sue, I hope you don't dislike the way I wrote this. I REALLY hate the way it looks but I agreed with most of the things you said, disagreed with a couple and had comments for others. It was just complicated enough that I thought this was the best way to do it so that it didn’t get too hard to follow.

Shooting someone, even a guy who is kidnapping your child, is awfully dangerous. The kid is squirming and fighting.. suppose you hit him? Even police officers with a lot of training have shot the wrong person.
Lots of variables. Skill, distance, threat, proximity to child, etc.

Absolutely agreed that the time to try your first head shot is not in the heat of the moment. All those action movies folks watch are not technically considered training. Adrenaline and a pulse rate of 120 do interesting things to your ability to place rounds where you want them. I know people that have trained like this and I know many, many more that only wish they had.

The farther away you are, the more likely you are to hit the wrong person. And if you miss, where is the bullet going? How far? What (or who) is going to end up stopping it?
Always applicable; good general advice.

If you're close enough to get a good shot, you're probably close enough to do something else.
IMO there are simply too many variables involved to make such a generic statement.

I’m guessing (dangerous I know ;)) that you’re assuming the assailant is unarmed. General advice is going to run against kicking the knee of a man holding your child and a firearm.

From what I've seen of most men fighting, most of them don't seem to be very good at it.
Agreed, BUT assuming how well someone can handle themselves is extremely dangerous. Several of the most dangerous people I know look as “normal” as can be.

If he gets away, get a good description and the license plate. If you have a pen but nothing to write on, write it inside your forearm.
Good advice Sue. The only part of this I would change is that you should try and develop a habit of getting a description immediately, don’t wait.

Even if you get your kid away from him, but he gets away, be sure to call the police. He will try again with someone else's child.
Amen sister!!! Too many people stop when the threat to them and theirs ends.

Put your kids in a basic self-defense class. You won't always be around.
Agreed. The attitude of active resistance and the understanding that they can help themselves alone is worth a lot. I am amazed at the ability of my son to put his feet on people effectively. He’s taken more than one of my adult friends to the ground and he weighs about sixty pounds.

(Shooting out tires is just for movies and TV shows, and possibly for a cool, expert marksman. Those bullets don't just evaporate when they miss their target, they ricochet and kill people.)
A broad generalization with many variables and assumptions. Believe it or not, particularly in rural areas, shooting tires out still happens. Just in case anyone thinks police officers are super human shooters, typically they are not any better than anyone else you pluck out of the general population that has been through a little formal training.

Several rounds through the radiator or tires before the car even moves may decrease the likelihood of escape.