As youngsters flip to AI chatbots for solutions, recommendation, and companionship, questions emerge about their security, privateness, and emotional growth
23 Jan 2026
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4 min. learn
AI chatbots have turn out to be a giant a part of all of our lives since they burst onto the scene greater than three years in the past. ChatGPT, for instance, says it has round 700 million weekly energetic customers, lots of whom are “younger folks.” A UK examine from July 2025 discovered that just about two-thirds (64%) of youngsters use such instruments. An identical share of fogeys is apprehensive their children suppose AI chatbots are actual folks.
Whereas this can be a slight overreaction, reputable security, privateness and psychological issues are rising resulting from frequent use of the know-how by children. As a guardian, you may’t assume that each one platform suppliers have efficient child-appropriate safeguards in place. Even when protections do exist, enforcement isn’t essentially constant, and the know-how itself is evolving quicker than coverage.
What are the dangers?
Our kids use generative AI (GenAI) in numerous methods. Some worth its assist when doing homework. Others may deal with the chatbot like a digital companion, asking it recommendation and trusting its responses as they’d an in depth buddy. There are a number of apparent dangers related to this.
The primary is psychological and social. Youngsters are going via an unbelievable interval of emotional and cognitive growth, making them susceptible in varied methods. They might come to depend on AI companions on the expense of forming real friendships with classmates – exacerbating social isolation. And since chatbots are pre-programmed to please their customers, they could serve up output that amplifies any difficulties younger folks could also be going via – like consuming problems, self-harm and/or suicidal ideas. There’s additionally a threat that your baby spends time with their AI that edges out not solely human friendships, but in addition time that needs to be spent on homework or with the household.
There are additionally dangers round what a GenAI chatbot might enable your baby to entry on the web. Though the principle suppliers have guardrails designed to restrict hyperlinks to inappropriate or harmful content material, they don’t seem to be all the time efficient. In some instances, they could override these inner security measures to share sexually express or violent content material, for instance. In case your baby is extra tech savvy, they could even be capable of ‘jailbreak’ the system via particular prompts.
Hallucinations are one other concern. For company customers, this could create vital reputational and legal responsibility dangers. However for youths, it might lead to them believing false info offered convincingly as truth, which leads to them taking unwise selections on medical or relationship issues.
Lastly, it’s vital to keep in mind that chatbots are additionally a possible privateness threat. In case your baby enters delicate private and monetary info in a immediate, it will likely be saved by the supplier. If that occurs, it might theoretically be accessed by a 3rd social gathering (e.g., a provider/companion), hacked by a cybercriminal, or regurgitated to a different consumer. Simply as you wouldn’t need your baby to overshare on social media, one of the best plan of action is to attenuate what they share with a GenAI bot.
Some pink flags to look out for
Certainly the AI platforms perceive and are taking steps to mitigate these dangers? Nicely, sure, however solely up to a degree. Relying on the place your youngsters dwell and what chatbot they’re utilizing, there could also be little in the best way of age verification or content material moderation occurring. The onus, due to this fact, is unquestionably on mother and father to get forward of any threats via proactive monitoring and schooling.
First up, listed here are a number of indicators that your youngsters might have an unhealthy relationship with AI:
- They withdraw from extracurricular time spent with family and friends
- They turn out to be anxious when not in a position to entry their chatbot, and should attempt to disguise indicators of overuse
- They speak concerning the chatbot as if it have been an actual particular person
- They repeat again to you as “truth” apparent misinformation
- They ask their AI about critical circumstances comparable to psychological well being points (which you discover out about by accessing dialog historical past)
- They entry grownup/inappropriate content material served up by the AI
Time to speak
In lots of jurisdictions, AI chatbots are restricted to customers over 13-years-old. However given patchy enforcement, you could have to take issues into your personal fingers. Conversations matter greater than controls alone. For one of the best outcomes, contemplate combining technical controls with schooling and recommendation, delivered in an open and non-confrontational method.
Whether or not they’re in school, at house or collaborating in an after-school membership, your youngsters have adults telling them what to do each minute of their waking lives. So attempt to body your outreach about AI as a two-way dialog, the place they really feel snug sharing their experiences with out the concern of punishment. Clarify the risks of overuse, hallucinations, knowledge sharing, and over-relying on AI for assist with critical issues. Assist them to grasp that AI bots aren’t actual folks able to thought – that they’re machines designed to be partaking. Train your children to suppose critically, all the time truth verify AI output, and by no means substitute a chat with their mother and father for a session with a machine.
If crucial, mix that schooling piece with a coverage for limiting AI use (simply as you may restrict use of social media, or display time typically) and limiting use to age-appropriate platforms. Change on parental controls within the apps they use that will help you monitor utilization and decrease threat. Remind your children by no means to share personally identifiable info (PII) with AI and tweak their privateness settings to cut back the danger of unintentional leaks.
Our kids want people on the middle of their emotional world. AI is usually a great tool for a lot of issues. However till your children develop a wholesome relationship with it, their utilization needs to be rigorously monitored. And it ought to by no means change human contact.
