Helping Parents Build Emotionally Resilient, Safer Childhood
For a limited time, tinyGuardian is free to use. Get an emotional snapshot of your child. Start building resilience today.
At tinyGuardian we believe that children who feel safe, connected, and self-aware are harder to harm—by bullies, predators, or the weight of everyday stress.
If you strive for a stronger bond with your child, or need spotting emotional gaps before they become real problems, tinyGuardian can help you do both.
Our children today are facing more anxiety, disconnection, and emotional overwhelm than ever before. And parents? More stretched, more rushed, and more concerned.
That’s where tinyGuardian comes in. A science-backed tool that in just 15 minutes a week helps you check in emotionally and connect meaningfully- through short, parent-guided conversations, personalized insights, and easy-to-follow activities.
Our goal is to help you understand how your child is really doing—and how to better support them in becoming more resilient, confident, and connected.
How it works
Do a 15-Minute Check-In
Sit with your child and explore a friendly, age-appropriate questionnaire designed to spark connection and meaningful insight.
Get a Clear Emotional Snapshot
Receive a personalized, confidential report that shows how your child is doing across 9 key areas of emotional resilience—and where they need support most.
Complete the Recommended Activities
Our fun, science-backed strategies fit easily into daily life and strengthen the areas where your child needs the most support.
Build Resilience & Connection
As you practice these activities together, your child becomes more secure, more resilient to bullies and emotional threats—and your bond as a parent grows stronger.
Real Impact on Real Families
“TinyGuardian helped us reconnect with our son in a way therapy and school conversations hadn’t — he finally opened up to us.”
— Parent of a 7-year-old boy, Massachusetts
A Small Habit That Makes a Big Difference
“Children with strong emotional awareness and confidence are significantly less likely to become targets of abuse.”
– tinyGuardian Scientific Board
Why tinyGuardian
Built by Experts
Advised by psychologists and psychometric specialists with over 20 years of experience in bullying and abuse prevention.
Engaging & Easy to Use
Short, science-based check-ins feel playful for kids and insightful for parents.
Clear Insights, Fast Action
Visual reports and simple, personalized activities help you support your child
where it matters most.
Driven by Innovation
Developed inside MIT’s entrepreneurship hub, tinyGuardian combines evidence-based design with rapid innovation to tackle real challenges families face today.
Meet the team
Juan Diego Villegas
Built companies across 3 sectors in under 10 years
Juan Diego is a serial entrepreneur and MIT graduate with a proven track record of founding and scaling successful ventures across diverse industries. Known for identifying opportunities and rapidly growing them into market leaders, he combines strategic vision with operational expertise. He currently leads startups leveraging AI/ML and emerging technologies across multiple sectors.
Aleksandra Safarova
10+ years launching products & software
Aleksandra is an accomplished design leader known for driving user-centric innovation and strategic growth at global scale. At KAYAK, her leadership earned prestigious awards, including a Google Material Design Award and Top 1% UX recognition from Baymard Institute. She now brings her expertise in accessible and culturally sensitive design to TinyGuardian, developing intuitive solutions for diverse audiences.
Mark Franco
27 organizations over 20+ years launched & acquired
Mark is a seasoned entrepreneur with a portfolio spanning 27+ ventures, including the industrial innovation leader MXD Process. With deep expertise in algorithm design, venture funding, and intellectual property strategy, he has consistently turned bold ideas into high-impact companies.
An accomplished engineering leader with a dual CS/music background, Kaijian has driven significant growth at companies like Citizen ($10M+ ARR) and Bermi (3M+ users) while developing patented mobile technology and maintaining a focus on AI applications.
Kaijian Gao
Engineering Leader
Meet the advisors
Dr. Jeglic is a clinical psychologist and professor at John Jay College, where she focuses on sexual abuse prevention and child emotional resilience. She has authored multiple books and peer-reviewed studies on abuse risk reduction. Her expertise ensures tinyGuardian’s approach is both ethical and evidence-based.
Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic
Dr. McCloy is a leading psychometrician with a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Minnesota and a BA from Duke University. He has over 30 years of experience designing large-scale assessments, including work with the ASVAB and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). His expertise ensures tinyGuardian’s tools are grounded in scientific rigor and measurement precision.
Dr. Rod McCloy
Dr. Winters is a psychologist and assistant professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, specializing in child abuse prevention and forensic psychology. Her research focuses on offender behavior and safeguarding systems, contributing to national policies on child safety. She has co-authored numerous publications on sexual grooming and abuse prevention strategies.
Dr. Georgia Winters