BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

Masterful Kids founder Robin Schafer is pictured with some of the children who are using her Web site for issues such as time management and peer-to-peer discussions. Clockwise from top left are Ian Friedman, Jamie Oliva, Erica Kent, Justin Shulberg and Christy Clarke. EAST BRUNSWICK - Children suffering from school burnout or stress have a new place to turn.

Masterful Kids is a new Web-based business created by township residents Robin and Randy Schafer as a way to teach children between the ages of 8 and 13 how to cope with stress and gain self-confidence. The program, launched in April, is run almost entirely over the Internet, and Robin stressed that it uses Children's Online Privacy Protection Act controls to make sure children are safe online.

"As a mother, I have seen firsthand the stress children are under," said Robin Schafer, who has three children, the youngest 11 and the oldest 21. "From homework to standardized testing to after-school programs, they are over-scheduled and rarely have time to just be kids."

Robin, who is CEO of the business, noted there have recently been two foiled high school shootings in Camden and Washington, and more locally, a fight involving 15 students at South Plainfield High School that left several people injured, including an administrator. There was also a recent cover story in Time magazine addressing the mounting epidemic in high schools across the country as one in three students are dropping out.

Partly an effort to combat negative behaviors, Robin said Masterful Kids is a safe place for kids to talk about the pressures they face every day and helps them understand, communicate and control their emotions.

Robin said she's seen a lot of changes in the school system and finds that children are more burdened than they used to be. This results in children falling through the cracks and becoming stressed out.

"They're always rushing here and there," she said.

As both a substitute teacher and mom, she looked for ways to ease the problem but found no solutions. This inspired her and her husband to create Masterful Kids.

"It was to help the kids and parents," she said, adding that when their children are stressed out, parents often follow suit.

What Schafer is trying to impart, she said, is "emotional intelligence," something she has studied - she has a degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

The service offers programs on achieving goals, being grateful, using exercise to achieve mental health, being positive, handling difficult people, and understanding feelings, among other things.

The site, www.masterfulkids.com, has five sections - a video, a daily journal for kids, a kids' opinion page for sharing their own views, a Web blog, and a parents forum for sharing ideas.

Robin said the program also allows children to ask their peers for advice.

The cost is $30 for a three-month subscription, while a six-month membership is $55 and a year is $75. Those who join are also entitled to a private counseling session with Robin regarding emotional intelligence.