How families can guide children’s contact with AI, promote digital safety, and preserve emotional and cognitive development.
The presence of technology in childhood is no longer a future possibility—it is a daily reality. Younger and younger children are learning to swipe screens even before they know how to tie their shoelaces. Cell phones, tablets, and virtual assistants have occupied spaces that were once filled by toys, books, imagination, and outdoor play.
Now, with the rapid popularization of Artificial Intelligence (AI), this scenario becomes even more complex. Unlike other technologies, AI converses, answers questions, creates texts, stories, and provides instant solutions. To a child, this may sound like magic—nearly perfect. But to what extent is this contact healthy? And how can parents and guardians ensure that AI is an ally, rather than an obstacle to child development?
This article explores the impacts of AI in childhood, the main risks involved, the benefits when used consciously, and, most importantly, how families can establish clear boundaries and healthy habits from an early age.
Children, Screens, and Constant Stimuli: What’s at Stake?
Child development experts warn that excessive screen time in childhood can compromise fundamental stages of growth. A child’s brain is in full development, learning how to handle frustration, how to wait, how to create hypotheses, and how to solve problems actively.
When contact with digital devices happens too early and without mediation, something essential is lost:
- Free playtime
- The capacity to imagine
- Tolerance for boredom
- The experience of trial and error
Artificial Intelligence intensifies this risk because it delivers fast, organized, and seemingly perfect answers, reducing the space for cognitive effort. Before even learning to explore the real world in depth, many children are already becoming accustomed to an environment where everything seems easy, immediate, and flawless.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Child Development
Psychopedagogy and neuroscience are clear: learning is not just receiving information—it is building knowledge. This process involves doubt, frustration, curiosity, and trial and error. AI, when used without criteria, can occupy the very space where that construction should happen.
The Illusion of the Perfect Answer
AI tools rarely show uncertainty. They don’t often say “I don’t know,” nor do they show the mental path taken to reach an answer. For a child, this creates the impression that thinking is simple and immediate—which does not reflect reality. Over time, this can lead to:
- Decreased persistence in the face of challenges
- Difficulty dealing with mistakes
- Low tolerance for frustration
- Dependency on ready-made solutions
The Importance of Adult Mediation in AI Use
Just as with television, video games, and social media, AI should not be used autonomously by children, especially in early childhood. The presence of an adult is not just recommended—it is essential.
Cognitive Mediation: Teaching How to Think, Not Just How to Answer
Children are still developing the ability to distinguish between reality, fiction, exaggeration, and opinion. AI, however, does not make these distinctions explicit. Therefore, the adult’s role is to provoke reflection by asking questions such as:
- “Where does this information come from?”
- “Does this always happen?”
- “What do you think about this?”
- “How could we find out if this is true?”
This type of dialogue strengthens critical thinking—something no technology can teach on its own.
Emotional Mediation: Frustration Also Educates
One of the greatest risks of indiscriminate AI use is the avoidance of effort. Children may turn to technology to avoid difficult, uncomfortable, or time-consuming tasks. But making mistakes is part of emotional development. By facing difficulties, a child learns:
- Resilience
- Autonomy
- Emotional self-regulation
- Problem-solving
When everything is resolved by an external tool, these skills are no longer exercised.
Safety Mediation: Data Protection and Sensitive Content
Another critical point is digital security. Children do not always understand what personal data is and may share sensitive information without realizing it, such as their full name, address, school, or family routine. Furthermore, even platforms with filters can present:
- Inappropriate content for their age
- Answers with adult language
- Violent or misleading themes
- Risk of misinformation
Because of this, privacy settings, constant supervision, and open dialogue are indispensable.
When Technology Goes Too Far: Real Risks
While technological risks affect people of all ages, they are more intense in childhood.
Outsourcing Thought
When a child stops thinking because a tool thinks for them, learning becomes impoverished. Information is not consolidated, reasoning does not deepen, and knowledge becomes superficial.
Unreal Expectations of the World
Real life does not work like AI. It does not respond instantaneously, it does not eliminate errors, and it does not offer perfect solutions. Children exposed prematurely to AI may develop a low tolerance for waiting and excessive frustration when facing limits.
Is There a Right Age to Use AI?
There is no single answer, but there are important guidelines:
- Up to 8 years old: Minimal use. Preference for offline play. No data production or sharing. AI only as an occasional, mediated resource.
- Between 9 and 12 years old: Supervised use. Educational focus. Active adult presence. AI as support, never as a complete solution.
- From 13 years old and up: Greater autonomy. Constant dialogue. Digital and ethical education. Clear limits on time and purpose.
Before age 13, use should be brief, intentional, and supervised.
Can Artificial Intelligence Be an Ally?
Yes—when used with purpose. AI can:
- Adapt explanations to the child’s age
- Stimulate curiosity
- Propose cognitive challenges
- Support reading and writing
- Make learning more playful
The secret lies in how it is used. The ideal is for the tool to act as a guide: asking questions, giving clues, and suggesting paths, rather than replacing the child’s own reasoning.
The Role of Platforms and Families
Responsibility does not lie solely with families. Platforms must create kid-specific modes, restrict sensitive content, and strictly protect data. Families, in turn, must monitor usage, establish simple rules, and explain limits as the child grows.
What Can Never Be Missing: Free Play
No matter how advanced technology becomes, there is something AI cannot replace: the real experience of childhood. Free play is fundamental for creativity, empathy, social skills, and autonomy. Running, making up stories, building things, failing, getting bored, and creating imaginary worlds are irreplaceable experiences. Childhood is not a period for productivity—it is a time for formation.
Conclusion: Balance Is Key
AI is not an enemy of childhood, but it cannot take a central role in child development. The balance between technology, adult presence, and real-world experiences is what ensures healthy growth. When used with pedagogical intent and active mediation, AI can enrich learning. But when it replaces play, effort, and the construction of thought, it becomes a silent obstacle.
In the end, what truly shapes a child are not ready-made answers—it is the experiences they live.
