5 Questions to Ask Your Kid About AI This Week
86% of 9-17 year-olds now use AI in some form
4 in 10 kids say a parent has never talked to them about AI safety
This isn't a quiz — it's a conversation starter. Below are five simple questions you can ask this week, plus a quick note on why each one works. Read through them once, pick whichever feels natural, and bring it up over dinner or in the car. That's it.
From AI, Honestly
The 5 Questions
What AI stuff have you used recently — even just for fun?
Open, non-judgemental, and assumes some use rather than asking 'have you,' which invites a defensive 'no.' Most kids have used something.
Do any of your apps have a built-in AI chat, like on Snapchat or Instagram?
Many kids don't think of My AI or Meta AI as 'AI' — it's just part of the app. This question surfaces tools a general 'do you use AI' question misses.
Has an AI ever said something that felt weird, wrong, or upsetting?
Normalises the idea that AI can get things wrong or say something off — and opens the door for them to tell you if it already has, without it feeling like a confession.
Do you ever use AI for homework? What kind of help, exactly?
The honest answer here tells you whether they're using it to understand something or to skip understanding it — the single most useful distinction for schoolwork.
If you were talking to an AI and it felt more like a friend than a tool, would you tell me?
Plants the idea early, before it's ever an issue, that emotional attachment to a chatbot is something to talk about — not something to hide.
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