About

Hello Friends,

Thanks so much for checking out the IMK community.

InspireMyKids.com is a place where people can find inspiring, age-appropriate, real-life, authentic, stories, videos, books, quotes and projects to share with the children and teens in their lives to help them become the best version of themself and make the world a better place.

We created this site nearly 10 years ago because it’s something we wanted for ourselves and our kids. Like all parents, we want to try and do whatever we can to help our kids become people who value what matters most, whether it’s helping others, showing compassion, acting bravely, being a good citizen, or persisting in challenging times.

We choose each story, quote and cause because it offers a vivid example of character in action. The idea – which has proven out in our families and in schools and families around the world – is that sharing these stories, words and activities with kids will spark the kind of meaningful discussions that can really help shape their perception of what it is to be a motivated, empathetic and good person.

Who Are We?

The site was founded by two young dads, Mike Stutman and Kevin Conklin.  We’re best friends who met in college and formed a fast and lasting bond that we still have over 30 years later, along with our fantastic wives.

As our families (and children!) have gotten larger, we’ve continued to grow into our roles as parents and to redefine what we think it takes to give our kids the best chance to succeed as they grow up. (And they grow up so fast!).  Mike and his wife Karen now have 4 children.  Kevin and his wife Emily now have 3 children.

While our parenting styles aren’t identical and have evolved over the years, we share a common passion as involved parents striving to bring up our children to have solid character, to dream big, to take action, to be contribution-focused, and to be the best people they can be.

The Origins of IMK

Over the years, prior to the formation of IMK, Mike and Kevin often shared links to news stories, videos, quotes, and other online content we found inspirational, and we would sometimes share them with our children. The stories would range from incredible kids inspiring other kids to amazing animals demonstrating admirable qualities to the invention of inspirational social causes. We found that these stories would spur amazing conversations and actions with our kids.

At the same time, while there is so much goodness in the world, much of it is crowded out by negativity.  When we look around and speak to those involved in educating children, we can see that many children are growing up in an environment that is absent of authentic role models but increasingly flush with negative media that promotes loudness and flash, over goodness and societal impact.  If anything, the volume of superficiality and false role models has only continued to increase over the years.  It is a habitat where engagement in character development can be low or absent and an emphasis on looking good (e.g. social media and peer pressure) is prioritized over being good and doing good.  

The results of this unhealthy cultural stew can range from:

  • Absence of compassion, kindness, and respect
  • Sense of entitlement
  • Selfishness and insularity
  • Lack of self-confidence
  • Lack of passion and motivation to excel
  • Apathy towards learning
  • Increased bullying

These undesirable attitudes and behaviors often start early and are revealed and magnified in schools, homes, and neighborhoods around the globe.

The world’s children and those entrusted to raising them (including us!) desperately need a place to quickly and easily find deep-thought-provoking, age-appropriate content to help them develop the right mindset and have the confidence and tools to take positive action. When we couldn’t find one, we decided to make one.

The IMK Journey

Since we first launched almost 10 years ago, inspiremykids.com has grown to be used by millions of involved adults and the kids in their lives around the world.  It is the leading community of inspiration for kids in the world.  It has won prestigious awards, such as being selected among only a handful of websites each year to be added to the American Library Association’s Great Websites for Kids.  It has become a fixture in classrooms and homes around the world.  From the stories we hear, it has impacted how kids think and take action for good.  It spawned the creation of 5 books (and counting) that have sold thousands of copies.  It has been a beacon of hope in a world that is increasingly in turmoil.  It has helped us raise our respective kids into thoughtful, caring young people.

As long as there is a need for kids to see positive role models in action, to tip the balance of media from bad to good, and to inspire kids to be the best version of themselves, IMK will there to help.

Please Join Us

We hope you’ll find inspiremykids.com useful for you and the children in your life as an ongoing source of dialogue, learning and growth—and better yet, positive action.

We really want to hear about your experience with this site and the IMK community as a whole, so please give us feedback anytime.  And please consider signing up for our email newsletter and/or social channels to stay abreast of new content and offerings.

Thank you for your interest in inspiremykids.com, for your involvement in helping kids become the best version of themselves and for making the world a better place.

With gratitude,
Mike Stutman (Dad and Co-Founder)
Kevin Conklin (Dad and Co-Founder)