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Talk about AI as an ongoing family conversation, not a one-time warning. Start by asking what your child has seen or used, then explore an example together, set age-appropriate boundaries, and agree on what information stays private. AI can help with learning and creativity, but it can also be wrong, collect personal information, or sound more human and trustworthy than it is.
Start by asking what your child already knows
Begin with curiosity rather than an accusation or lecture. Try questions such as:
- “Where have you seen AI lately?”
- “What do you use it for, and what do you like about it?”
- “Has it ever said something strange or wrong?”
- “Is there anything about using it that feels uncomfortable?”
Listen before setting rules. Your child may encounter AI in a chatbot, a voice assistant, a game, or a school activity. You do not need to be an expert to have the conversation. UNICEF interviewee Ying Xu, an assistant professor of AI in Learning and Education at Harvard University, describes adults and children learning alongside one another as a useful starting point: “Right now, adults and children are often learning at a similar pace, and approaching AI as co-learners, being open, curious, and willing to navigate uncertainties together, can be an effective starting point.” (UNICEF, “Parenting in the AI age”.)
Explain what AI is—and what it is not
Keep the explanation simple: “AI finds patterns and uses them to make a response that can sound like a person. It doesn’t have feelings or know everything, so we need to think about what it tells us.”
#1 Best Overall
For younger children, connect the idea to a familiar voice assistant or another tool they have seen. Make clear that a response that sounds friendly or confident does not mean a person is thinking or feeling on the other end. Looking at an example together can help: ask what seems useful, what might be questionable, and how you could check it.
Match the boundaries to your child’s age
Common Sense Media recommends different levels of chatbot use by age. These are the organization’s safety recommendations, not legal age limits. A child’s maturity, the tool, and the task still matter.
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| Age | Common Sense Media guidance | What to focus on |
|---|---|---|
| 5 and under | No AI chatbots | If AI comes up naturally, explain it in simple terms. Prioritize play, hands-on learning, and interaction with people. |
| 6–12 | Limited use alongside a parent or caregiver | Talk through mistakes, unsuitable content, bias, privacy, and whether AI is doing too much of the child’s work. |
| 13 and older | Supervised use can be appropriate for homework or creativity | Keep regular conversations going, check school rules, and help teens preserve their own thinking and authorship. |
For anyone under 18, Common Sense Media advises against using AI for companionship, emotional support, or mental health advice. This is safety guidance, not a legal rule. A chatbot should not take the place of a trusted adult, counselor, or qualified professional.
Make privacy rules specific
Children may share more than obvious identifiers. UNICEF interviewee Ying Xu notes that school details, home routines, friendships, feelings, and health concerns can also be sensitive. Give your child a practical pause rule: “Before you type something, ask whether you’d be comfortable with other people seeing it.”
Agree that they should not share an address, school name, passwords, private photos, or personal information about themselves or someone else. Then review the particular service’s privacy settings and data practices together. What a service collects or retains can differ, so do not assume one tool handles information the same way as another.
Use AI to support learning, not replace it
For schoolwork, start with the assignment and the school’s rules—not with an assumption that the child has done something wrong. Ask: “What are you trying to learn?” and “Is AI helping you understand, or just finishing the assignment?”
A useful before-during-after routine is:
- Before: Ask the child to say what they want to learn or practice and check what their teacher allows.
- During: Look at whether AI is explaining an idea, generating practice, or helping revise—or simply providing a finished answer.
- After: Ask the child to explain the result in their own words without AI and show how they checked it.
AI can sound certain while giving a wrong, outdated, biased, or invented answer. For important claims, help your child verify the information using a trusted source. The aim is for AI to support the child’s effort and ideas, not replace them.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Agree on a few family rules and revisit them
Make the agreement together where possible. Keep it clear enough for your child to remember, and revisit it as the child matures or their tools and school expectations change. Decide:
- Which tools are allowed, and when an adult needs to be present.
- Which kinds of school use are acceptable under the teacher’s or school’s rules.
- What information must stay private.
- When to stop using a tool and ask an adult for help.
A family activity can make the rules easier to discuss. Common Sense Media and Day of AI offer a free AI Literacy Toolkit for Families, with caregiver videos, activities, conversation starters, guides, and a glossary. One guide focuses on privacy, fairness, and responsibility.
Notice when AI use may be affecting wellbeing
Xu identifies possible signs worth a calm conversation: very long sessions or distress when asked to stop; secrecy or anxiety; turning to AI instead of trusted people; or AI displacing sleep, school, friends, or hobbies. These are prompts to check in, not a diagnosis.
Try asking what your child likes about the tool and whether any part feels unhelpful. If something is upsetting them, remind them they can talk with you or another trusted adult. For mental health concerns, turn to a qualified professional rather than a chatbot.
What other families’ AI use figures do—and don’t—tell you
Common Sense Media’s June 8, 2026 summary of a survey of 1,204 children aged 9–17 reports that 86 percent use AI, nearly a quarter use it daily, and more than four in ten have never discussed AI safety with a parent or guardian. In that survey, three-quarters said their school had discussed what AI use is and is not allowed, while just over half said they had been taught how to use AI safely (Common Sense Media’s 2026 report summary). These figures describe the surveyed children, not every child or family.
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