Video: Origins of Kidpower and Introducing Doing Right by Our Kids

Our goal with Doing Right by Our Kids is to protect and promote child safety at all levels of society. We start with what parents and kids can do, then add on schools, sports teams, community groups, faith-based organizations, and walk up the ladder of change all the way to laws that protect us all. Project co-creator Irene van der Zande and I have made a series of short videos to introduce our work and to share specific skills. We’ll post them here periodically. The first video in... Read more

Ten Kidpower Safety Tips for TSA Agents and Parents to Prevent Trauma for Children at Airport Security

Even though the TSA has updated its policies for to be more child-friendly, TSA agents in Kansas yelled and insisted on a pat-down for a scared four-year-old girl, scaring her and upsetting her family at airport security earlier this month. Kidpower, a nonprofit leader in violence prevention and personal safety education for children and adults since 1989, has ten recommendations to help families with children follow airport security procedures without trauma, and for the TSA make changes that... Read more

Review of Dateline NBCs show My Kid Would Never Do That

As parents, we teach our kids safety rules, but what would our kids do if they were actually faced with an enticing lure from a “friendly” stranger? That is the compelling question posed by Dateline NBC’s new hidden-camera series “My Kid Would Never Do That.” I share my collaborator Irene van der Zande’s concerns about using staged situations to test kids on safety rules. This practice has a lot of problems and I do NOT recommend that parents try to create... Read more

Dateline NBC: Well-Meaning But Destructive Practice of Tricking Kids with Tests About Strangers, Safety, and Ethics

Tonight, Dateline NBC will start a series called “My Kid Would Never Do That,” showing stories using hidden cameras and actors to test children’s abilities to follow their parents’ instructions to make safe and ethical choices. The announcement encourages parents to watch and discuss this show with their children – which we do NOT recommend. Tricking kids by setting up tests behind their backs might make interesting TV – but does NOT make children safer and can be... Read more

Talking to kids about touch and safety doesn’t have to be scary

As parents we know that it’s up to us to talk to our kids about the safety rules about touch and boundaries. This can be an intimidating process for parents, but it doesn’t have to be scary. This conversation can be difficult because often parents don’t know what to say. Kidpower founder Irene van der Zande and I are working on providing resources to help guide you through this process. Here on the Doing Right by Our Kids website, we have just released a free “Talking... Read more