Kars4Kids is a US-based nonprofit organization with a focus on youth, mentorship and education. Our robust car donation program, offering quick and free pickup to donors across the US, provides the funding for our suite of year-round programs for children and families. We take a holistic, multifaceted approach to developing youth into productive members of society, bringing together school, family and community for maximum impact.
About Kars4Kids Parenting
The Kars4Kids Parenting blog is a vehicle for sharing our years of experience and expertise in education and youth development with parents everywhere. Parenting is a daunting endeavor and babies don’t come with instructions. We believe that parents want to keep up to date on the latest research in parenting. But a brief online search shows that it is difficult to find such resources written for the layman, the regular parent. As a portal of Kars4Kids, Kars4Kids Parenting shares the aim of giving our children the best possible experience in parenting, family environment, and education.
We’re big proponents of mentoring and we like to think of this blog as a kind of mentor to parents. Not sure what to do when your baby won’t stop crying? Curious about the latest research on ADHD? We have tried to make Kars4Kids Parenting the place where parents know they will receive trustworthy information in their own everyday language.
Here at Kars4Kids Parenting, parents can find up-to-date information on child-rearing and education written for regular people in simple terms. We do our best to offer you the latest scientific research on such topics as sleep, smartphone use, substance abuse, the teenage brain, spatial awareness difficulties, and bonding.
We also provide parents with evergreen resources on a range of parenting topics including teething, choosing a babysitter, and an overview of alternative school systems like Montessori. We speak with experts in the field, and cover the topics you care about as a busy parent looking to get accurate information, the first time out.
About Varda Meyers Epstein
Varda Meyers Epstein serves as editor in chief of Kars4Kids Parenting. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Varda is the mother of 12 children and a0 grandmother of many. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Learning Site, The eLearning Site, and Internet4Classrooms.
More Kars4Kids parenting resources
- The Kars4Kids Safety app was developed in 2014 to combat the growing problem of children being forgotten in hot cars. The app uses Bluetooth technology to trigger an alert when the phone is disconnected from the car to remind parents and caregivers that there is a child in the backseat. Along with the app’s release, Kars4Kids launched a full-fledged awareness campaign including a viral “hot car challenge” video to educate parents on the dangers of leaving children in the car and the need to take precautions.
- For several years, Kars4Kids used the lighthearted medium of an April Fool’s joke to convey serious messages about parenting. The first such campaign, in 2014, played on the common confusion engendered by the name Kars4Kids with a new radio jingle tagline, “donate your kid today!” and an accompanying Kids4Kars website purportedly accepting donations of children in exchange for free vacations. The real message? Kids may not be easy to raise but they are worth the effort – and focused time is the most valuable gift you can give them. Check out our other April Fools campaigns for parents at kars4kids.org/kids and kars4kids.org/kars-for-kids.
- Kars4Kids uses its extensive media/advertising network to broadcast a variety of public service messages, often aimed at parents, such as one offering resources for recognizing, preventing and tackling bullying behavior in children.
Other Kars4Kids content
Kars4Kids is perhaps best known for its long-running radio jingle, a cultural touchpoint referenced by popular entertainers and mainstream media. The song has imprinted the words “1-877-Kars-4-Kids donate your car today!” in the minds of millions of radio listeners nationwide. It’s also been credited with taking Kars4Kids from a small local charity to a national powerhouse of good.
Jingle media mentions:
other videos of ours: