Welcome to ethiKids
ethiKids is dedicated to building/creating a sustainable, values-based culture. We seek to be a catalyst in changing the way children and adults think and talk about values, life choices and personal actions. ethiKids will offer a series of innovative and fun materials that engage children and adults in open dialogue about the challenges and pressures a child faces in today’s fast-paced social environment. Experts agree that today’s children and teens face far greater risks than previous generations and their ability to negotiate those risks successfully will determine how our society moves into the future. By engaging both children and adults in character-based scenarios and dialogue, ethiKids aims to promote the development of a healthy values compass and essential life skills. Our unique approach to strengthening character through dialogue prepares children to deal with the situations that life presents them and parents are given some assurance that their kids have the tools they’ll need to successfully navigate their teens and beyond.
Tweens find themselves confronted by a complicated social landscape and a mind-boggling array of choices – with far more intense pressure to conform – at a considerably earlier age than their predecessors. As Dr. David Walsh, Psychologist and Founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, has observed, “I don’t think there’s any question that kids are getting more and more information at a younger and younger age. The result is the adultification of youth.
This early maturing phenomenon is why younger ages offer the best window for values-based education, before tweens shift from the influence of their parents to being primarily influenced by their peers, especially at a time when the risks increase (see Influence and Risk chart). Parents, educators and even children widely agree that kids need help in learning to make responsible and ethical decisions before their teens.
Company Background
ethiKids was conceived in 2005 by Laurane Magliari who has extensive experience in transforming organizational cultures. This experience in the corporate world proved the positive impact that values, such as, teamwork, accountability, inclusion, excellence and a dedication to service had on work success and performance.
Magliari began discussing the ambiguous, murky ethical world faced by today’s children and adolescents, reflecting on what the future held for a generation that would soon be taking over the reigns of corporations, government and society. She convened a panel (See Advisors) of educators, business people and experts in social change, with the goal of developing a better understanding of the shortcomings and potential opportunities in the contemporary approach to ethical education.
Given what virtually every participant characterized as a negative spiral related to children’s character development, Magliari responded by founding ethiKids, dedicating it to the mission of fostering children’s ethical development. To that end, she began researching ways to develop fun and engaging materials that would create open dialogue between children and adults about ethical behavior in today’s fast-paced, changing and sometimes confusing world.
