AI for Kids — What Every Parent Should Know
Your Child Is Already Using AI
In the US, according to the Common Sense Media report "The Dawn of the AI Era" (September 2024), seven in ten teens had used at least one generative AI tool.
Polish schools face a question that TVN24 aptly formulates: "How to wisely use the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence without being led astray?"
The problem? In the same Common Sense Media study, most parents were not aware that their teen was using generative AI at all. And if they do know — they don't understand how it works or what the risks are. As the TVN24 report notes — most teachers also don't belong to the generation "born with a smartphone in hand", which makes education in this area even more challenging.
AI is not in the future. AI is NOW — on your child's phone, in search engines, in games, in social media.
What Is AI — An Explanation for Parents (and Kids)
For children aged 6-9:
"AI is a computer programme that can learn from large amounts of data. Just like you learn from books — AI learns from billions of texts and images. But AI does NOT understand what it says — it repeats patterns."
For children aged 10-13:
"AI is a system that analyses enormous amounts of data and generates answers based on them. ChatGPT doesn't 'think' — it predicts the next word based on billions of texts. It can be wrong and doesn't realise it."
For teenagers aged 14-18:
"Large Language Models (LLMs) are neural networks trained on large text datasets. They have no consciousness and don't understand context in the human sense. They generate statistically probable text — which means they can produce convincingly sounding nonsense."
5 AI Risks for Children
1. Hallucinations — AI Lies, Fabricates
AI can state false information with full confidence. A child writing an essay with ChatGPT might include citations from books that don't exist, or historical facts that never happened.
Example: When asked about World War II battles, ChatGPT might invent a battle, date, and casualty count — and it sounds completely credible.
2. Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty
A child submits an essay written by AI. The teacher gives a top grade. The child learned nothing. They repeat the pattern. After a year — they can't write a paragraph on their own.
This isn't a technology problem — it's an education problem. A child who uses AI as a "writer" instead of an "assistant" loses the ability to write. This is exactly what the TVN24 report "In the Classroom with a Chatbot" discusses — the temptation of shortcuts is enormous, and a chatbot provides ready-made answers in seconds.
3. AI-Homework Addiction
It is easy to slip into a habit where a child asks AI about every homework assignment — even simple multiplication. The line between "AI helps me" and "AI does it for me" is very thin.
4. Inappropriate Content
AI chatbots can generate content inappropriate for children — if a child phrases the question the right way (so-called "jailbreaking"). Despite safety filters, children are extremely creative at bypassing them.
5. Emotional Manipulation
AI chatbots "pretending" to be an empathetic friend. A child confides their problems to a chatbot instead of talking to a parent, friend, or psychologist. The chatbot cannot truly understand or help — but the child may not know that.
How to Teach Your Child to Use AI Wisely
Rule 1: AI Is a Tool, Not an Authority
"AI can be wrong. Always verify information from AI with another source. Just as you don't believe everything a friend says — don't believe everything ChatGPT says."
Rule 2: AI Helps You Think, It Doesn't Think for You
Good use of AI: "Explain photosynthesis to me in simple words" Bad use of AI: "Write me an essay about photosynthesis"
Teach your child: use AI to UNDERSTAND, not to COPY.
Rule 3: Don't Share Personal Data
AI chatbots remember (or process) what you tell them. A child should not share:
- Full name
- Address
- Phone number
- School name
- Photos
We write more about protecting a child's data online in our article on children's privacy and the GDPR. In its guidance on generative AI in education (2023), UNESCO recommends, among other things, protecting data privacy and setting an age limit for independent conversations with generative AI platforms.
Rule 4: AI Doesn't Replace People
If a child is sad — they should talk to you, not ChatGPT. If they have a problem at school — they should tell a teacher, not AI. A chatbot has no emotions, doesn't worry, doesn't love. What platforms promise parents about teens' conversations with chatbots is covered in a separate article on teens talking to AI chatbots.
Rule 5: Learn HOW It Works
A child who understands that AI predicts the next word (rather than "thinks") will be more cautious and critical. Knowledge is protection.
Exercise: AI vs Human
Play a game with your child:
- Ask ChatGPT 5 factual questions (e.g., "how many planets are in the Solar System?", "who wrote Romeo and Juliet?")
- Check the answers in an encyclopedia/Wikipedia
- How many times was AI wrong? What did it make up?
- Discuss: "Why can AI be wrong? How is it different from a human?"
This builds critical thinking — the most valuable skill in the age of AI.
How Does MichalKids Help?
The MichalKids Academy has a course for children called "AI & Machine Learning" – short lessons with quizzes and a certificate once the path is completed. The Academy switches on automatically for a child aged 10 or older once their phone has been sending data to MichalKids for a day; on the Free plan, the first lesson of each path is available.
Guardian, not a spy. We don't block AI — we teach how to use it consciously.
Sources:
- TVN24 — "In the Classroom with a Chatbot", System Depression (March 2026)
- Common Sense Media — The Dawn of the AI Era: Teens, Parents, and the Adoption of Generative AI at Home and School (September 2024)
- UNESCO — Guidance for generative AI in education and research (2023)