Designing for Children's Best

Our next stop: Stockholm, where Harriet, 13, turns the tables—reflecting on what it's like to watch adults try to understand teenagers! We talk about creative freedom, complexity in games, representation, and unethical monetization strategies. Harriet is intelligent, funny, sharp, and a wonderful reminder of why continuous open dialog with children is a must for child-centered design!  This se...

We're staying in England for one more conversation,—this time with Alex, 11, Wren's brother. We talk about motivation, choices, bias, interactive boards, Shakespeare’s spelling skills, the fast pace of modern childhood and—as our guest beautifully sums it—“cultural developments of life”. Alex is brilliant at expressing thoughts with confidence and virtuous authenticity. It's a conversa...

Our next stop: England — meet Wren, 8, who has a lot to say about what child-friendly really means. We talk about safety, freedom in learning, digital experiences, and how creativity evolves through exploration. Wren shares which platforms she avoids and why. Her insights are sharp and brilliantly articulated, and her words remind us — again — not to underestimate younger voices. That’s what this...

In this season, we’re on a journey of exploring how kids understand design, children’s rights, and what we can learn from their unique insights, context, and perspectives. Hope these conversations spark ideas and action, amplifying the impact of youth voices in the world we’re designing together. Our first stop: Pakistan, where Sarah, 16, kindly invites us into her reality — where some things we c...

Are you ready to enrich your understanding of play and spaces that allow equitable child experiences?  In this episode we are joined by Marie Williams to reflect on the urgency of prioritizing play and moving beyond conventional ideas and aesthetics of play tools. Emphasizing the importance of play experiences, we discuss the value of transferring knowledge, sharing diverse stories, and co-designi...

What is play, playfulness, and physicality? What are their practical sides and applications in the AI Era? What boundaries should we set to ensure AI is sensitive to children's playful minds? In this episode, we are joined by Yesim Kunter, play expert and futurist, to discuss these serious questions, looking at AI as a Human+AI interplay. *** Links to the guests and hosts*** Guest: ⁠⁠ Yesim Kunter...

Peek into the Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s approach for prioritizing children’s best interests, leveraging their unique insights, and positively impacting the work of children’s tech and media creators. In this episode, Michael Preston, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, shares the wonders of partnering with kids and each other. Discover how the Cooney Center Sandbo...

What can children tell us through their interactions with everyday clothes? And what can they learn about themselves and others through clothing? Why and how can young people inspire a more ethical fashion industry driven by D4CR principles? It takes no less than three experts to address these questions through the analysis of collaborative experiences of co-creation with children. Let’s embark in...

Get inspired by how the D4CR principles are being applied in various organizations and academia. From inclusivity to the impact of digital technology, we explore the challenges and opportunities in different industries. As an expert in play and designing for children and a co-founder of D4CR, Krystina provides unique insights into creating impactful experiences for children that address their pres...

250 children wrote a 40 meters long message saying “ WE HAVE RIGHTS, WE DESIGN THE FUTURE ” expressing with chalk their thoughts, opinions, and feelings. What a fantastic way to celebrate Children's day! In this episode we talk with Clara Vieira Rodrigues, the leader of D4CR Porto Chapter, about this powerful event, as well as about co-creating with and for children in public space as an act o...

This episode is about systemic integration of play and playfulness into Denmark’s New Children’s Hospital -  Mary Elizabeth’s Hospital in Copenhagen. One of the D4CR co-founders, Caser Mathiesen is the lead play designer of the hospital’s internal design team. Casper describes the systemic approach to play and concrete examples of how this approach manifests in enhancing the overall experience for...

Applying children's rights in design for kids is a win-win-win, for the company, for the product and for the children. It’s the smartest thing to do from a business perspective. This is the culture today. Millennial parents really care about ethical design. You can see that in different parts of their lives, including what they give to their children. If the product is safe, private, child-cen...

In this episode we talk about the use of Speculative Design in exploration of the future of Children’s Rights in digital products.  Michelle Bruce,  a star designer from D4CR’s Berlin local chapter walks us through the methods and the outputs of the workshops they have been running with both adults and children in the room.  *** Link to the guest*** Michelle Bruce https://www.linkedin.com/in/michb...

Age appropriate is a trendy and widely used term in designing for children. This term is also sometimes unfortunately, overused or even abused, both intentionally and unintentionally. In this episode, we'll learn from and with a special guest who is my go-to expert on the topic. We'll dive into what age appropriate refers to it's history and research where and how it is used today, as...

Welcome to Designing for Children’s Best, a podcast about how to turn our best intentions into outstanding child experiences. In this very first episode we are introducing Designing for Children’s Rights association that is behind this podcast, our mission statement, as well as taking an in-depth look at why it is important to have children as stakeholders and what impact it creates. Our guests to...