Kids, school and AI: a guide for parents and grandparents

Where do children come across AI?

Many adults think AI means a separate app, such as /en/tools/chatgpt/. But children and teenagers meet it in lots of other places. AI assistants are built into messaging apps and social media, such as /en/tools/meta-ai/ in WhatsApp and Instagram. Games, video services and search engines use AI to recommend content. And schools increasingly use learning platforms with AI features.

So banning a single app won't remove AI from a child's life. What matters more is that the child understands what AI is and how to use it wisely. For that, they need an adult's help.

Age limits and settings

AI services have age limits, even if they aren't always strictly enforced. Many services have a minimum age of 13, and under-18s often need a parent's or guardian's permission. Some services are for adults only. Age limits change, so always check the service's own terms.

• Use family settings. Tools such as Google Family Link and Apple's Family Sharing let you control which apps a child can download. ChatGPT offers parental controls that let you link a teen's account to a parent's.
• Set up the account together. When your child is old enough, create the account together and go through the settings. It's a natural moment to talk about the rules.
• Keep history visible. With younger children, agree that you can look at conversations together. It isn't spying – it's learning together.

Homework: a tutor, not an answer machine

Used well, AI can be a great help for a child. It will happily explain fractions for the tenth time, invent new practice questions and test vocabulary. The problem starts when AI does the homework for the child. Then no learning happens – and at school, it's also dishonest.

School policies vary. In Finland, the National Agency for Education has issued guidance to schools, but often it's the teacher who decides when AI may be used. Ask your child's teacher or check the school's guidelines in its messaging system.

A good rule at home: AI can help the child understand, but the child does the work. Here's a prompt you could stick on the fridge.

A prompt like this turns the AI from an answer machine into a guide. More ideas for learning in /en/guides/learning-and-hobbies/.

AI can be wrong

Children need to know that AI isn't an encyclopaedia. It can make things up that sound convincing but are wrong. So:

• Important facts are checked in a book, the textbook or a reliable website.
• If an answer sounds odd, ask an adult or a teacher.
• AI has no opinions or feelings of its own, even if it sounds friendly.

A fun exercise to do together: ask the AI to tell you something about your home town and check together what was true. Your child practises critical thinking at the same time. More on AI's limits in /en/guides/what-ai-cant-do/.

Healthy habits

AI is a tool, not a friend. Some apps, however, are designed to feel like a friend or even a partner. They're always available, always agreeable and always interested. For a lonely young person especially, that can be tempting – and can crowd out real relationships.

Take note if your child:

• spends long periods chatting with AI and withdraws from friends
• prefers telling AI about their worries rather than adults
• becomes irritable when the app is limited.

If you notice this, don't blame. Ask with curiosity what they talk about with the AI and how it feels. Explain that for big things – grief, bullying or feeling low – help comes from people: parents, teachers, the school nurse, or helplines and chat services for children and young people.

Privacy through a child's eyes

Children easily tell AI everything: their name, school, address and friends' secrets. Teach a few simple rules:

1. Don't share your full name, address or school.
2. Don't send photos of yourself or your friends.
3. Don't share other people's secrets.
4. If a conversation feels strange or scary, stop and tell an adult.

More on safety in /en/guides/ai-privacy-and-security/.

How to talk about AI with your child

The best conversations start with curiosity, not bans. Here are a few questions to get going:

• "Can you show me how you use AI?"
• "What do you think it's good at, and bad at?"
• "Has it ever told you something that was wrong?"
• "What are you allowed and not allowed to do with AI at school?"
• "How would you know if a picture or video was real?"

Grandparents can be especially good conversation partners here. Children love teaching adults, and it opens a natural chance to talk about scams and deepfakes too. We cover those in /en/guides/ai-scams-and-deepfakes/.

Family rules

Many families find a short list, agreed together, works well. For example:

1. AI helps with homework, but we write the answers ourselves.
2. We always follow the school's guidelines.
3. We don't share personal details or photos.
4. We check important facts in another source.
5. We talk about worries with people, not just with a machine.
6. Screen time is agreed the same way as for other devices.

Review the list every few months. Children grow and AI changes, so the rules can change too. Most important of all is that your child knows they can always come to you if something is bothering them. When adults stay interested, children learn to use AI wisely – and they may even teach you something new.