Our Story

When our first child was born in 2002, we began seeking out the recommendations of family and friends for kid-friendly local destinations to visit with our new little one. Talk about having a hard time finding personal recommendations - either online or within our personal networks. Over the years as our family has grown, we have had a number of family outings and our expertise about the best family-friendly (and not-so-family-friendly) spots in and around Chicago has grown. Each place we visited we noted the way the wait staff treated our kids and other kids that were there, the menu and even the restrooms. Have you ever tried changing a child in the restroom without a changing station? I found this especially harder for the guys, since most places do not have a changing station in the men’s room but usually in the ladies. We started looking for simple things like crayons, cups with lids, a menu with something besides just chicken tenders, mac and cheese or pizza. We realized there was a need for a centralized resource to share with and receive from other families this kind of helpful information and Kidgrade (www.kidgrade.com) was born! Kidgrade is a resource for families looking to know more about a business or destination before they visit. In the past year, the site has evolved into the online destination for families to rate their experiences at places to eat, play, shop and stay. Do you want to support a favorite local business? Did you have a particular great experience at a new restaurant? Or, were you disappointed by a business or activity and you want to spare other families the same sort of bad family outing? Share your opinion! Love it, hate it, then Kidgrade it Angel and Segun Ishmael Angel’s Bio Angel besides being a co-founder and running Kidgrade is a mother of three wonderful kids, Alexis, Zoe and Myles. She is an avowed vegetarian, an avid health and a workout enthusiast. Presently she is taking yoga instruction to becoming a yoga trainer one day. In the past she has worked in radio and television. Segun’s Bio Segun is the other co-founder and is married to Angel. Segun is an ER physician and medical executive in his other life and is learning that vegetables are really not that bad.

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