By Mallory Mattingly
Artificial Intelligence has begun to take over the world of technology. AI generates numerous social media posts that are difficult for humans to distinguish as real or fake.
With that, parents should know how to help their child embrace AI without depending on it.
According to Psychology Today, parents should help their child “build connection-centered tech skills.”
“Technology should support relationships and curiosity, not replace them. Help children develop a healthy relationship with technology that serves their learning,” Jen Lumanlan M.S., M.Ed. wrote.
There are two ways Lumanlan directs parents to do this:
- Model intentional tech use: “Instead of reflexively reaching for your phone to answer every question, pause and think together first. ‘I wonder what kind of animal that is. What do you notice that might help us search?’ They learn that typing ‘salamander’ won’t help identify the one in front of them, but ‘California orange salamander’ gets you to a likely identification. This teaches children to observe, hypothesize, and use technology as a tool for confirmation, not a replacement for thinking.”
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Practice privacy protection as a family value: “Have age-appropriate conversations about what information is safe to share online. Help them recognize sites that might be stealing information and assess whether downloads can be trusted. Make sure they know not to share information about emotions with AI tools.”
Related: Why Parents Need To Be ‘Knowledgeable,’ ‘Careful’ About AI Technology
Lumanlan also encouraged parents to “focus on human skills that AI can’t teach.”
Those include:
- Encourage collaborative problem-solving: think through solutions together. Don’t just solve the problem for your child.
- Make ethics conversations routine: talk about times when you see people being kind or unkind. This will help your child learn the difference.
- Practice emotional awareness together: help your child understand that emotions are a good thing and shouldn’t be dismissed. “Emotions give valuable information about unmet need,” Lumanlan wrote.
On her Instagram page, Your Parenting Mojo, Lumanlan encourages parents to take their kids outside.
“Isn’t it amazing how nature becomes the perfect playground for kids?” Lumanlan shared. “Their natural curiosity comes alive as they explore and discover new things outdoors. You know when kids ask questions, it’s not just about getting answers – they want us to be part of their excitement and discoveries!”
The biggest part of getting your kids outside is that you “don’t need to know everything to take our kids out in nature–we just need to be there as curious co-explorers!”
In a world surrounded by AI, many parents aren’t sure how to help their child embrace the new technology without depending on it. Lumanlan gives parents the tools they need to help their child adapt to the world around them.
Read Next: 3 Reasons Why Parents Must Teach Their Children Media Wisdom
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