Parenting in the AI Age of Technology

Oksana Perelman
5 minutes ago
10 min read

In 2026, artificial intelligence (AI) will play a vital role in people's lives. Some will feel excited and eager to try it out, while others may hesitate, feel fearful, or reject it entirely. This new technology will affect everyone, including our children. And although AI offers potential, flexibility, and adaptability, it still requires adult supervision, guidance, and education to ensure it has a positive impact. This article discusses the adoption of new AI technology, its risks and benefits, and provides recommendations for parents and educators in the AI era.

Parenting in the AI Age of Technology — ©Vitaly Gariev, Unsplash

As parents, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by the rapidly changing world that surrounds us. New technologies and trends emerge at an astonishing pace, leaving us with a mix of fears and uncertainties regarding their impact on our children. We watch our kids quickly adapt to innovations, often outpacing our understanding of their capabilities and knowledge.

Our instinct is to protect the kids from potential dangers, whether they come from outside influences or the digital environment where social media and the internet play significant roles. We strive to establish boundaries and manage screen time, but the vast and unpredictable nature of the digital world raises more questions than we have answers for.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, parents encounter another layer of educational complexity.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into our children's lives feels sudden and unwelcome, presenting challenges for which we often feel unprepared. We are faced with an enigmatic force that can disrupt the comfort and stability of our children's lives.

In this constantly changing world, how can we understand and support our kids? Let's take a moment to explore why kids and adults tend to grasp and embrace new technology in different ways.

Children and Adults do Comprehend and Adopt New Technology Differently

A few independent studies conducted in 2025 by researchers at the Catholic University of Portugal, Multimedia University in Malaysia, and the University of Strathclyde in the UK highlighted the essential differences in technology adoption between younger and older individuals.

Younger people, such as children and adolescents, tend to adapt to technology quickly. Their cognitive flexibility, curiosity, and lower perception of risk contribute to their ease in using new tools and platforms. They often find encouragement from their peers, which further supports their learning.

In contrast, older adults face numerous challenges when using technology. These challenges include health issues, low digital skills, distrust, lack of training, anxiety, and resistance to change.

The Differences in AI Usage Between Children and Adults

If we look at the most common use cases of AI, we can clearly identify several patterns in overall adoption rates, purpose of use, mental adulthood, frequency, and intensity.

Young people, especially teens and young adults, are really getting into AI! Their usage often matches or even exceeds that of adults under 60, while older age groups use it less frequently.

A 2024 NORC survey found that about 64% of U.S. teens (ages 13-17) have tried AI chatbots, with around 30% using them daily. Among adults aged 18-64, usage was around 40-45% in late 2024, with younger adults (18-29) leading at 46% weekly use.

For kids under 13, there's less data, but they're introduced to AI through educational tools and family devices, though their exposure is usually more limited and supervised than teens'.

Adolescents and teens primarily use AI for schoolwork, brainstorming, entertainment, and social interaction. Common Sense Media's 2024 report found that seven in ten U.S. youth (ages 13 -18) have used generative AI, often for academic tasks like homework help or editing, with many parents unaware. Teens also frequently turn to AI companions (nearly 3 in 4 have tried them per a 2025 Common Sense survey) for emotional support or conversation. Adults, particularly those under 60, more commonly use AI for professional productivity, such as drafting emails (17%), editing documents (20%), or summarizing notes (14%), as per NORC data. Older adults show lower engagement overall, often citing privacy concerns as a barrier.

13% of U.S. adolescents and young adults (ages 12-21) use generative AI chatbots for advice when feeling sad, angry, or nervous.

Additionally, youth are more likely to use AI for mental health advice or companionship. A 2025 RAND study found that 13% of U.S. adolescents and young adults (ages 12-21) use generative AI chatbots for advice when feeling sad, angry, or nervous, with rates rising to 22% among ages 18-21. This reflects the accessibility and perceived privacy of AI for underserved youth facing mental health challenges. Adult usage for similar emotional or therapeutic purposes is less prominently reported in surveys, though overall chatbot interaction is common across ages.

Last but not least, younger users tend to interact more frequently. Pew's 2025 teen survey showed nearly one-third of U.S. teens using chatbots daily, with older teens (15-17) and those from higher-income households more engaged. Among adults, interaction drops with age: one-third of those under 30 use AI several times a day or more, compared to lower rates in older groups (e.g., 54% of ages 65+ use it less than several times a week).

The Impact of AI Tools on Kids' and Adolescents' Health

The integration of AI tools, including chatbots and virtual companions, into the daily lives of kids and adolescents presents both benefits and challenges. While these technologies can provide support, they also raise significant concerns that warrant careful examination.

Mental Health Risks

Approximately 12% of teenagers report relying on AI for emotional support, a trend that can sometimes replace traditional therapeutic interventions. This shift may inadvertently reinforce unhelpful thought patterns, potentially leading to increased feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. The engaging nature of AI technologies, combined with their often addictive qualities, can exacerbate these issues.

Recent research highlights a concerning link between excessive use of AI-enhanced social media, defined as more than five hours a day, and heightened rates of unhappiness, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Compounding these effects are issues such as cyberbullying and the influence of persuasive algorithms, which can further complicate young people's emotional well-being.

From a psychological perspective, AI companions may interact with children's natural reward systems, fostering dependency and emotional distress, especially in the face of social challenges. For younger children, interacting with AI-driven toys can diminish vital social interactions with caregivers and peers. This disruption may hinder their ability to form secure attachments and to distinguish between fantasy and reality, complicating emotional regulation as they mature.

Developmental and Social Risks

For teenagers aged 10-19, whose brains are still developing, consistent engagement with AI can alter self-perception and interpersonal connections. Unlike real-life conversations, which encompass complexity and nuance, "frictionless" interactions with AI may inadvertently foster feelings of loneliness and social withdrawal, potentially compromising future relationships and workplace interactions. Evidence suggests a correlation between heavy AI usage and an increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Safety and Privacy Risks

The rise of AI in online environments introduces significant risks, including cyberbullying, with approximately 60% of young social media users encountering this issue. The potential for exposure to harmful content, such as grooming and inappropriate material, raises serious safety concerns. Alarmingly, one in four minors may face grooming attempts in chatrooms, and many encounter unwanted sexual content regularly. Additionally, algorithms that recommend increasingly disturbing or unsuitable material can create challenging feedback loops.

Privacy is another critical issue associated with AI technologies. Children and teenagers often share personal information without understanding the risks, making them vulnerable to targeted advertising, scams, and identity theft.

Physical Health Risks

Generative AI's influence extends to physical health, with increased screen time associated with a more sedentary lifestyle. This shift can detract from essential activities, such as sleep and exercise, and may lead to unhealthy habits, particularly when AI provides misleading information regarding topics like restrictive diets.

Moreover, a significant percentage of young children, around 40% of those under two, are gaining early exposure to AI-driven devices. Unfortunately, this early introduction can adversely affect their physical coordination and language development, particularly when they engage with content that prioritizes profit over educational value.

As parents, we may wonder if there are any benefits of AI for children. Yes, let's explore this to gain a complete understanding.

Benefits and Advantages of Using AI Tools

While the risks of AI use can be summarized in general terms, it is interesting to examine the benefits distributed across age groups.

Early Childhood (Ages 0–5, Preschool)

AI tools in early childhood education primarily support personalized learning and developmental skills when used thoughtfully to complement human interactions. These applications are most effective in limited, supervised contexts to preserve human connections.

Here are a few benefits for this category of children:

Adaptive activities that adjust to each child's learning pace and style, ensuring individualized support for cognitive development, such as early literacy and vocabulary building.
Social robots and AI-assisted tools that support social-emotional learning, such as recognizing emotions from facial expressions or vocal tones and providing guidance on emotional regulation.
Enhancements in creativity, collaborative inquiry, computational thinking, and basic concepts of AI, machine learning, and robotics through interactive toys and apps.
Support for children with special needs, such as autism, by improving socialization skills (e.g., via wearable devices like AI-enhanced glasses for emotion recognition) or aiding in tasks like vocabulary learning for bilingual children.

School-Age Children (Ages 6–12, Elementary)

For elementary-aged children, AI expands access to knowledge and fosters foundational skills. AI literacy, introduced at this age, helps children critically evaluate information and understand AI's limitations.

The primary key benefits include:

Broadened information access through voice assistants and chatbots, allowing children to ask questions and explore topics independently, which stimulates curiosity and critical thinking when paired with AI literacy education.
Personalized educational support, such as suggesting activities, lesson plans, or interventions based on performance data, and helping with problem-solving and adaptability.
Development of digital literacy and basic AI understanding, preparing them for future technology use (e.g., through age-appropriate tools like visual coding or simple machine learning projects).
Assistance for neurodiverse children, including improved social skills via social robots that teach emotional cues, eye contact, and communication.
Encouragement of active engagement and play-based learning, potentially integrating movement to counter sedentary screen time.

Adolescents (Ages 13–18, Teens)

Adolescents benefit from AI in more advanced educational, mental health, and personal development areas. Advantages include:

Enhanced academic productivity, such as brainstorming, summarizing, and personalized tutoring, supporting deeper learning and skill-building in subjects like science and writing.
Improved mental health access through AI-powered chatbots and apps offering 24/7 anonymous support, stigma-free advice, early intervention for issues like anxiety or depression, and tools based on therapies or acceptance and commitment therapy, which can increase well-being scores over time.
Better diagnosis and monitoring of conditions (e.g., ADHD, autism, suicidal risks) via AI analyzing data like neuroimaging or speech patterns, leading to targeted treatments.
Development of critical thinking, AI literacy, and ethical awareness through direct use of generative AI for schoolwork or emotional support.
Support for underserved groups, providing affordable, engaging interventions where traditional services are limited.

AI tools in childhood education should be used thoughtfully to complement human interactions.

As we can see, AI has the potential to create more equal opportunities by enhancing accessibility for everyone. However, it is crucial to monitor its use to ensure that it remains beneficial and balanced. Given the positive and negative impacts of AI on children of all ages, what steps should we take as parents to support and educate them? Let's dive into the last and most interesting part of this article: parenting in the AI age.

Recommendations for Parenting in the Era of AI

Parenting today involves balancing the benefits of artificial intelligence with its risks. AI can enhance learning and creativity, but it can also lead to problems like misinformation, privacy issues, over-dependence, and exposure to inappropriate content. Experts emphasize the importance of talking openly, educating ourselves and our children, and supervising their technology use to address these challenges.

The following tips will help us raise our children to be responsible, informed users of AI while protecting their well-being. As parents, we must start small, adapt to our child's age, and revisit discussions as technology evolves.

Educate yourself first - Learn the basics of AI tools that create text, images, or music, like ChatGPT or Gemini. Understand how they work, their limitations (e.g., they can produce inaccurate or biased information), and age restrictions (most require users to be 13+). This allows you to guide your child confidently.
Have open, ongoing conversations - Talk regularly with your child about their AI use without judgment. Ask what tools they're using, how they feel about AI responses, and discuss real vs. AI-generated content. Encourage them to share experiences and verify information with trusted sources.
Set clear rules and boundaries - Treat AI like other screen time: establish usage limits, especially for chatbots or companions. Prohibit sharing personal information (names, addresses, photos) as it can become part of the AI's training data. Monitor usage, particularly for younger children.
Co-use and supervise - Explore AI tools together. Try prompts side-by-side to show how wording affects outputs, and discuss results. For younger kids, supervise all interactions to ensure age-appropriate content and prevent frustration or exposure to harmful responses.
Teach critical thinking and AI literacy - Help children question AI outputs. Is it accurate? Biased? Ethical? Teach them to fact-check, cite sources, and understand that AI lacks real emotions or understanding. Foster skills such as prompt engineering (crafting practical questions) while emphasizing human creativity.
Promote balanced use - Encourage AI as a tool for brainstorming, learning, or fun, not as a replacement for human interaction, effort in homework, or relationships. Warn against over-reliance, which can hinder critical thinking or emotional development, especially with AI companions.
Prioritize privacy and safety - Use available privacy settings on devices and apps. Discuss risks such as deepfakes, AI-based grooming, and data collection. For teens, talk about avoiding the creation or sharing of harmful AI-generated content (e.g., non-consensual images).
Model responsible behavior - Demonstrate ethical AI use yourself, verify information, avoid dependencies, and discuss your experiences. This sets a positive example.
Collaborate with schools and stay informed - Ask about your child's school AI policies and guidelines.
Focus on human connections - Remind children that AI cannot replace real relationships, empathy, or creativity. Encourage offline activities, social interactions, and emotional support from people.

To summarize

When handheld calculators were first introduced in the early 1970s, there was significant debate among teachers and academics regarding their use. Many feared that students would become overly reliant on them and fail to develop basic math skills. However, over time, the introduction of calculators shifted the focus of math education from rote manual computation to higher-order mathematical thinking and problem-solving using technology. With proper educational guidance, clear rules, and support, innovations like AI can help nurture a new generation of thinkers.

As parents, we shouldn't be afraid of AI; instead, we should view it as an opportunity to learn alongside our children. Being prepared means being ready to embrace these changes. So, leap with your child into the new era of AI technology.