Consultancy for children and youth content, at the meeting point of psychology, ethics and children's rights.
We help media companies create content for and with children that truly fits its young audience: engaging, age-appropriate, and made with real care for the children involved.
Our approach
More than media advice.
5 lenses we bring to every project
Rights & ethical judgement
Practical ethical guidance grounded in children's rights, giving your team the confidence to make decisions that protect the children involved, support the creative process, and strengthen the integrity of the work.
Child development
Developmental expertise that informs the choices you make through a deeper understanding of how children experience content, what they can grasp, and what may confuse or engage them, creating content that genuinely connects with its audience.
Representation & cultural context
Cross-cultural insight that examines how children, families and communities are portrayed, for stories that resonate authentically with diverse audiences while avoiding unintended harm or misunderstanding.
Creative vision
A feel for story that balances craft, production realities and children's needs, offering solutions that strengthen the work rather than constrain it.
Trust that lasts
Attention to the emotional impact and responsibility every story carries, producing work that stands up to scrutiny and earns lasting confidence.
Often, a flat yes or no doesn't help you make the scene. We work through what actually shapes it, and hand you a way forward:
- Does this ask something confusing or uncomfortable of the child?
- Is taking part genuinely their choice?
- How will young viewers and families read this moment?
- What's the most powerful way to tell it well?
- How do we stage it so it lands, and protects everyone?
"Yes, but here are five risks, and how to handle each one."
Children's and youth content that centres the wellbeing of its audience is becoming a competitive edge in a media-saturated world. Audiences, funders and platforms are paying closer attention than ever to how content affects children, and to how children are treated when they help make it.
Expectations are rising
Parents and educators are curating more than ever, and choosing with intention. For all their concern about media, they are looking for content that is built to help children learn and grow, widen their interests, support their social and emotional development, model positive behaviour and self-regulation, and open them to the diversity of the world.
Children's rights are moving into the brief
Regulators and policy makers around the world increasingly expect children's rights to be considered from the first design choices, not addressed after release. As accountability grows, child rights by design is shifting from good practice to baseline expectation.
Quality content lasts
Content built around how children feel and develop earns its place: it connects more deeply and stays in circulation longer. Parents, educators and audiences notice, and reward, quality that treats children with care, on screen and behind the scenes. Work grounded in the best interest of the child is what proves its worth over time.
Every engagement is shaped around your project: its format, medium, content and the children or youth involved. Across film, series, podcasts, books, games and apps, we build a tailored approach that fits exactly what the work needs.
Script & concept review
- Tailored to the audience's age and developmental needs
- Sensitive themes and moments, identified and handled with care
- Representation that's responsible, resonant and culturally aware
- Stronger, more engaging storytelling
Safe & optimal child participation
- A way of working with children or youth that gets the best out of each participant
- Children who feel safe, respected and at ease
- Methods built for your project and context
- Participation that's positive for the child and the team
Training and/or on-set support
- Clear, practical guidelines for the teams working with child or youth participants
- Trainings tailored to your project's needs before you start
- A trusted presence on set or location
- The right call made in the moment
Educational content refinement
- Support delivering on educational funding commitments
- Social and emotional learning (SEL) value, grounded in child psychology
- Educational concepts that show up in the finished work
- Master's in Childhood Studies & Children's Rights
- Master's & Bachelor's in Clinical Psychology
- Specialisation in the ethics of children & media
- Childhoods in international & cultural contexts
Andrea Zarif holds a European-grade Master's in Childhood Studies and Children's Rights, with a particular focus on the ethics of children and media, and on childhoods across international contexts: cultural, environmental and educational.
She is also formally trained in psychology, with both a Master's and a Bachelor's in clinical psychology.
Fluent in four languages and conversant in others, and shaped by life across four continents and many cultural and environmental contexts, Andrea reads the needs of a production quickly and brings the sensitivity and accuracy each project calls for. She also has a talent for surrounding herself with the right people, so every engagement draws on the most relevant knowledge and expertise.
Working where psychology, ethics, international law and creative practice meet, Andrea is unusually well placed to spot what others miss, and to find solutions that respect the child and elevate the work.
What clients say
Coming soon. We're gathering words from the teams we've worked with.
The easiest place to start is a short conversation. Tell us about your project, what you're making and what you need, and we'll suggest the right way to work together.