On Purpose

July 17, 2025

My friend Matt recently became a grandfather for the first time, and I'm thrilled for him and his family. I’ve known Matt for over 20 years, but it wasn’t until just a few days before little Griffin was born that I met Matt's wife, Jackie. Little did Jackie know how eager I was to meet her; sure, it was partly because I knew she’d be smart and genuine, but I also had an ulterior motive: I figured Jackie was more likely than Matt to post lots of photos once the baby arrived. Of course, when I log into Facebook these days, I'm hit first with whatever “the algorithm” wants me to see—ads, distractions, clickbait—so if I want my daily fix of beautiful new life in the world, I can’t count on scrolling passively: I have to go directly, on purpose, to the pages of my friends who have new babies or grandbabies.

This on purpose aspect of living in the world is the main lesson I want to convey to kids: We have lots of powerful tools to connect us with people and information these days, but humans have to hold the reins. And we have to teach kids to turn on their brains and tune out the noise.

Our mission at KidsOutAndAbout.com is to be a powerful tool without noise. Since 2001—long before social media—we’ve worked to connect families directly with the events, programs, and organizations that help them thrive, and we celebrate the people who create them. There’s no algorithm controlling what you see; we just spotlight what’s good and local and display it all on our lists and calendars. And, of course, it's free to use.

You can help us keep it great! KidsOutAndAbout is free for local organizations to use to spread the word, so if you’re part of one, or know someone who is, visit KidsOutAndAbout.com/welcome to learn how to post events and programs. If you want to thank a local business that does great work, vote for them in our annual survey to generate KidsOutAndAbout's annual list of the Top 20 Local Places to Take Kids, which closes July 31. And if you know of a fabulous hidden secret that deserves attention, email me back personally so I can shout about it.

Also, if you feel compelled to email me a baby or grandbaby photo... well, I can never see too many of those.

—Debra Ross, publisher