#AI and children
12 articles
- What kids are actually doing with AI chatbots
Not homework shortcuts, mostly. A look at how children are really using AI chatbots at home and school, and what parents can do about it.
- Are AI toys safe? The trouble with talking teddy bears
An AI teddy bear drifted into explicit talk, and another toy exposed 50,000 children's chats. What parents should know about AI toys before buying one.
- When an AI companion is hard to quit, teens notice first
Most teens use AI companions for fun and creativity, not romance. The ones who get stuck are often the first to say so, if we listen.
- Kids are adopting AI faster than adults, and they're wary of it
A UNICEF study of 20 million children across 10 countries finds kids adopting AI far faster than adults, and surprisingly clear-eyed about its risks.
- AI deepfake nudes in schools are a peer problem, not stranger danger
AI nudify apps have made deepfake abuse a classmate problem in schools, and most parent safety talks aim at the wrong threat. What actually helps.
- Kids can't switch off Google's AI answers, and that's the risk
A July 2026 safety review found Google's AI search answers pose an unacceptable risk to kids, and parents can't turn them off. What to actually do.
- Schools are teaching kids AI faster than they're making rules
Nearly every student already uses AI, but most schools still have no formal rules for it. Here is what parents should actually ask their child's school.
- When teens ask a chatbot for mental health advice
A fifth of young people now ask AI chatbots for mental health advice, and most tell no one. The worry is less the advice than the secrecy.
- Cognitive debt: what AI could be doing to kids' thinking
The loudest worry about kids and AI is cheating. The quieter, better-evidenced one is cognitive debt: what a young brain loses skipping the hard part.
- Parents underestimate how much their kids use AI
New 2026 research finds parents guess their children use generative AI far less than kids say they do. Why the gap matters, and how to close it.
- AI chatbot bans for kids: what the 2026 laws actually do
In 2026 a wave of state and federal laws set out to restrict AI companion chatbots for minors. Here is what they cover, and what they leave to parents.
- When AI helps kids learn, and when it quietly doesn't
New research finds an AI that hands kids the answers can leave them worse off than no AI at all. What helps is a tool that makes them think.
