These standards explain how KidsCo researches, writes, labels and corrects its parenting content. They are designed to make each page easier to trust—and easier to challenge when we get something wrong.
Last reviewed: . These standards apply as articles move through KidsCo’s current review programme. See the dated Corrections & Editorial Updates log for the pages completed so far.
1. Write for people first
A useful KidsCo article should answer the question in plain English, explain what matters in real life and help the reader decide what to do next. We do not pad articles to hit a word count, repeat the same answer under different headings or add technical language simply to sound authoritative.
2. Follow an evidence hierarchy
The right source depends on the claim. For UK health, pregnancy, medicine and child-safety topics, our order of preference is:
- Current UK public guidance: the NHS, GOV.UK and NICE.
- Relevant professional guidance: Royal Colleges, recognised clinical or safety bodies, regulators and local NHS maternity or neonatal services where the question is local.
- Primary instructions: current patient-information leaflets, manufacturer instructions, standards and official eligibility or benefit rules.
- Peer-reviewed evidence: used when the official guidance does not fully answer the question, with uncertainty explained rather than hidden.
- Secondary reporting and lived experience: useful for context and practical questions, but not used alone to establish a medical or safety claim.
A newspaper, retailer, forum, commercial blog or social post may reveal a question, but it should not be the final evidence for a health or safety answer. Source links should sit close enough to the relevant section for readers to check the detail themselves.
3. Check context, not just sentences
A source can be reputable and still be the wrong source for the claim. A factual review checks its date, country, intended age group, pregnancy stage and whether newer guidance has replaced it. It also looks for missing red flags, unsafe ambiguity, unrealistic instructions and a headline that promises more certainty than the evidence supports.
4. Be honest about authors and reviewers
Every article should have a byline and a working author profile. The KidsCo Editorial Team is an organisation byline used for desk-written and maintained archive content; it is not presented as a person. Named contributors, including Kristine Bowman, have their own profile pages.
KidsCo does not currently claim a standing medical advisory board. We do not use a blanket “medically reviewed” badge. Where an appropriately qualified professional reviews a page, the article should name that reviewer, state the relevant qualification and show the review date. Without that information, readers should treat the article as general editorial guidance and use the linked official source or their own professional for personal advice.
5. Use review labels precisely
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Published | The date the page first appeared on KidsCo. |
| Updated | A change was made, which may be editorial, technical, visual or factual. It does not by itself mean the full page was re-researched. |
| Fully reviewed | The direct answer, important factual claims, source links, practical steps and relevant warnings were checked in the current editorial programme. |
| Medically reviewed | A named, suitably qualified reviewer checked the page within their professional scope. Their name, relevant qualification and date must appear. |
A new native layout, image, internal link or WordPress modified date is not a substitute for a factual review. As of , the native design migration covers every published post, while the research review is still being completed topic by topic. The public update log is the source of truth for completed batches.
6. Prioritise by potential harm
Health, pregnancy, medicines, safe sleep, feeding, car seats and other safety-sensitive pages are reviewed before lower-risk entertainment or celebrity archive pages. We do not promise a single fixed review interval for every topic because guidance and risk do not change at the same speed. Credible evidence of a potentially harmful error moves a page to the front of the queue.
7. Make corrections traceable
Small spelling, formatting or accessibility fixes may be made without an article note. Material factual corrections should update the page promptly and, where the change matters to a reader’s decision, explain what changed. Health and safety errors take priority.
To request a correction, email advertising.kidsco@gmail.com with the page URL, the disputed wording and supporting evidence. We assess the source, correct the page when warranted and check whether the same problem appears elsewhere. Completed topic reviews and significant sitewide changes are recorded in Corrections & Editorial Updates.
8. Use internal links because they help
Internal links should feel like a helpful next sentence, not a random list dropped onto the page. Anchor text needs to tell the reader what they will get. We avoid forcing unrelated pages together simply because they share a broad category.
9. Keep useful outside links and show commercial context
External links can provide evidence, first-party instructions or useful contributed context. Existing guest and contributed links are preserved during design and SEO work; an unavailable or questionable destination is investigated and labelled or corrected with an audit trail rather than silently removed.
Partner Guides may contain paid or supplied links and carry a disclosure. They are separate from health and safety guidance. Where a link exists because of payment or another commercial arrangement, it should be handled in line with search-engine and advertising disclosure requirements. Commercial involvement must not be used to manufacture medical authority, fake testing or invented first-hand experience.
10. Do not pretend automation is expertise
Automated tools can help locate broken links, compare templates, organise research or flag possible inconsistencies. They are not a source and cannot hold a qualification. Claims still need to be checked against the underlying evidence, and KidsCo remains responsible for what appears on the page.
11. Keep the tone human
Our readers may be tired, worried, busy or holding a baby with one hand. We favour short explanations, familiar words and practical examples. Serious warnings should be clear without turning every normal parenting worry into a crisis.
Questions about these standards?
Visit the contact page, read more about KidsCo, or inspect the current review and correction log.