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A 'hood' on the 'net

Margaret Moran was one of those business executives who had it all.The Salem Street resident was a senior vice president of marketing and chief operating officer of a large health management firm, directing the company from a $2 million start up to a $35 million regional leader. The former registered nurse was also an author and lecturer who was adept in creating first rate programs for hospitals and other firms.Then, in February 2000, 6-year-old Kayla Rolland was murdered in her first-grade classroom near Flint, Mich.A six-year old classmate shot her."It was a year after Columbine [the 1999 shooting spree in a Colorado high school that left 16 dead] and I wanted to do something that would help people understand what was happening," said Moran, whose background includes pediatric physiology.

Today, that "something" is KidsTerrain, Inc. a Web site that provides a virtual "neighborhood" to help parents and teachers navigate and understand their children, students and own work lives. Now in its second and newly revised version, KidsTerrain - kidsterrain.com - aims to become the premier one-stop resource center for families on the Internet, much like WebMD but whose focus is on the physiological wellbeing and nurturing of children. "We want to be that brand that people will go to for helpful information from this neighborhood of people," she said.The site has been a long time in development, according to Moran, who has also written three children's books. Starting out as a place on the Web children could visit the site - "really cute" said Hannaford -evolving into a place for adults who want to find ways and approaches to make both their personal and family lives easier.

"What I found is that you can't assume that all parents know everything. We all have questions whether its about work place bullying to ADD. What we want to do is listen to parents to find what is on their minds," said Moran.The site is separated into three parts or "neighborhoods," said Rena Hannaford, KidsTerrian's president: @ Work, @ School and @ Home. Using neighborhood was a deliberate choice, said Hannaford, who recently left Wilmington to live in New Hampshire."We have sort of lost what being part of a neighborhood was," said Hannaford, who recently sold her part of an occupational and environmental health company to join KidsTerrain full time."Nowadays, our kids have play dates rather than simply going next door to play. We want to bring back the time when you knew your neighbors," she said.

Each section or "neighborhood" comes with its own resource outlets - reading lists, polls, surveys and a feature called "Let's talk about it" - for parents and teachers to view.What's topical?Typical topics for the school "neighborhood" include communicating with parents; in the work "neighborhood," how to negotiate flex time and how best to use personal coaching. Hannaford said a recent topic for the "Let's talk" feature could be discussing the tragic stabbing death of a student at Lincoln Sudbury High School."We could advise educators and parents how to gently talk about the incident, understand it and not to be afraid," said Hannaford, It will also have discussion boards to spark communication between on the myriad of issues and challenges facing each group.

The sites now include "webinars:" web-based seminars on specific subjects of concern within each neighborhood. It is one of two areas that cost a fee to view.In one example, a parent interest in talking to their child about "body confidence" can purchase the service in which an expert is heard discussing the subject accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation on screen.The "webinar," which last for about 15 minutes, can be stopped, slowed downed and reversed at the customer's convenience. "We know that especially for parents, they find it hard to find the time to find helpful information.

What we are doing is to be available for that busy parent or teacher when they are ready," said Hannaford. "They can go online at 5 a.m. or 10 p.m. or whenever they want," said Moran. Subjects for webinars and other material will be gleamed from "what's hot" on the discussion boards or a topical subject in the news.

The website will also be the primer location for the company's New Voices Publishing, which produces books and CDs.Both women see their service being provided to businesses, schools and communities for a fee as part of a benefits package or community service. It is also seeking to fill the Web site with local information for areas across the country.

The company is also seeking to team up with Parent/Teacher organizations for fundraising and future partnership. For Moran, already a success in the business arena, the mark of achievement in this latest venture will be far different than past accomplishments. "There's a wonderful sense that we did all the homework to help with parenting and teaching," said Moran.