Last updated: 12 September 2026
This page explains how a KidzFeed guide is made, who is responsible for it, and the checks it must pass before it is published. It is a plain-English summary of the written standard every guide is held to.
What we care about, in order
- Being right. A guide that is easy to read but wrong has failed.
- Being clear to a child. A confident nine-year-old should be able to read it alone.
- Being useful to the adult helping them. Parents and teachers should be able to check every important fact.
Search traffic and advertising come after all three.
How a guide is made
- Choose the question. We start from questions children really ask, using search data and the words people type into our own search box. Before writing, we check that the site does not already have a guide on the same subject.
- Research. We go to the original source wherever we can: government agencies, universities, museums, national parks, scientific journals and the organisations that study the subject. Our sources policy has the details.
- Write. Each guide opens with a direct answer of 40 to 60 words, then explains it. Hard words are explained the first time they are used. Big numbers are compared with things a child can picture, like a double-decker bus.
- Check. Every guide must pass the checks listed below. A guide that fails any of them is not published.
- Keep it current. We revisit guides when the facts change, such as a new population count or a new discovery. A guide’s “Updated” date changes only when its content changes, not when we tidy a link or a setting.
The checks every guide must pass
- Reading level. The text must score at US grade 9 or below on standard readability formulas. Most guides written to our current standard score between grades 5 and 7.
- Sources. Three to six sources from institutions, each with a note saying what it supports, and every link working.
- Depth. At least 1,500 words of explanation, so there is room to answer the question properly instead of listing facts.
- Pictures. Every picture must show what its caption says. Pictures that could mislead a child are removed, including AI-made images of real animals or places.
- Links. No link from a guide to a paid placement, and no useful link lost when a guide is rewritten.
- Style. Checks for padding, for phrases that make writing sound machine-made, and for spelling. The site uses British English.
How we use AI tools
We use AI writing tools to help research, draft and edit guides. They let a small team bring hundreds of older guides up to our standard. We are open about it because readers should know how the guides are made.
- An AI answer is never a source. Every fact a guide relies on must come from a source we can link to. The key facts and figures are checked against those sources before a guide is published.
- AI tools do not decide what is published. An editor does, and only after the guide has passed every check above.
- No AI pictures of real things. Guides use photographs, maps and diagrams. When we find an AI-made picture on an older guide that could mislead a child about what something looks like, we replace it.
- No reader data. We never send information about our readers to AI tools.
Authors and reviewers
Every guide names its author and shows when it was last updated. Author pages describe each person’s experience, and we do not invent qualifications.
Writing for children
- We state facts plainly. No fake excitement, no “Wow!” and no talking down.
- When something is uncertain, we say so. “Scientists still argue about this” is better than a confident guess.
- Sensitive subjects, such as war, disasters, extinction and illness, are explained honestly and without graphic detail. These guides are written for ages 11 to 13, tell children to talk to a grown-up, and include the people who helped.
- Measurements are given in metric and imperial, such as 5.5 metres (18 feet).
Advertising and paid content
KidzFeed is paid for by Google AdSense ads. Advertisers do not see guides before they are published, and they have no say in what the guides say.
We do not accept guest posts, paid links, sponsored articles or free products in return for coverage. In the past, KidzFeed published some articles that other companies paid for. The ones still online carry a “Paid placement” notice. Their links are marked as paid, they are hidden from search engines, they carry no ads, and our guides do not link to them.
Corrections
When we get something wrong, we fix it and say so. Mistakes that could have misled a reader are listed on our corrections page.
Who looks after this policy
This policy is maintained by Murad Ali Khan, KidzFeed’s editor. You can reach him through our contact page.