17
Lesson 17 · 2 min
AI and your kids
Children already use AI, so the goal is not to ban it but to teach them to use it wisely and safely.
Kids meet AI in homework helpers, games, social apps and voice assistants. Many chatbots have age rules, often 13 or older, and some offer special teen or family modes.
The main risks: copying homework without learning, trusting wrong answers, sharing personal details, and forming a strong emotional bond with a chatbot character.
Talk about it like any other tool. AI can explain, quiz and give ideas. It should not do the thinking for them, and it is not a friend who keeps secrets.
Simple rules help: use AI in shared spaces, no personal details, and always check important facts with a person or a book.
Do it now
Explore AI together
- 1.Sit with your child and ask a chatbot a question about their favourite topic.
- 2.Ask them: how could we check if this is true?
- 3.Then use the prompt below to try AI as a tutor, not an answer machine.
I am [AGE] years old. Help me understand [TOPIC] by asking me questions one at a time. Do not give me the answer directly; give me hints if I get stuck.
Words from this lesson
- Chatbot
- A program you talk to in everyday language by typing or speaking, which replies in the same way.
- Guardrails
- Rules and filters around an AI system that block harmful, off-topic or unsafe requests and answers.
- AI literacy
- Knowing enough about how AI works to use it well, spot its mistakes and decide when not to use it.