Ages & Stages / Pre-K

Pre-K: Ages 3 to 5

Little kids meet AI through smart speakers, talking toys and apps that answer back. Your job right now: keep it together-time, and plant one big idea.

Young children often meet AI through tablets, speakers and toys.

The 2-minute version

  • Use AI with your preschooler, never as a babysitter.
  • Teach the big idea: computers can talk, but they aren't people and don't have feelings.
  • Check what smart speakers and talking toys record and keep.

Kids this age can understand more than you think

Research shared by UNICEF USA[1] suggests children can start to grasp basic AI ideas in preschool when you use familiar examples, like “the speaker answers because it was built to, not because it knows you.”

Top risks at this age

  • Talking toys and speakers that listen. Tools like smart speakers can collect what kids say and build a profile over time (Brookings[2]).
  • Thinking the AI is alive. Chatbots are designed to sound human and emotionally responsive, which can blur the line between a program and a relationship (Penn State Extension[3]).
  • Unsupervised videos and apps that use AI to pick what plays next.

What to say

“The speaker can talk, but it's a computer. It doesn't have feelings like you and me.”Plants the “AI isn't a person” idea.
“Let's call it ‘it,’ not ‘he’ or ‘she.’”A tip from Brookings[4]: calling AI “it” helps kids remember it isn't a person.
“If something on the screen feels weird or scary, come get me. You're never in trouble for telling.”

Do this week

  • Open your smart speaker app and review or delete saved voice recordings.
  • Keep devices in shared spaces like the kitchen or living room (Penn State Extension[3]).
  • Turn off any setting that lets an app use your child's data to train AI (Brookings[2]).

Good ways to use AI together

  • Create a short story together, then talk about which parts the AI invented.
  • Ask a speaker a question, then check the answer in a picture book.
  • Play our “Robot or Person?” game.

Exploring AI together and following your child's curiosity are recommended by UNICEF USA[1].

References

AI-OK? summarizes these sources in our own words and links to the originals. Short quotes are marked with quotation marks, and some titles are described in [brackets]. All credit for original research and guidance belongs to the authors below.

  1. UNICEF USA. (2026, February 9). Protecting children in the age of AI (featuring Ying Xu, Harvard Child-Centered AI Lab). https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/protecting-children-age-ai. Accessed October 4, 2026.
  2. Brookings Institution. (2026). Where kids' information goes in an AI world. Parent tip sheet 11. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/tips-for-parents-raising-resilient-learners-in-an-ai-world. Accessed October 4, 2026.
  3. Wolbert, E. D., Rudy, T. L., & Perkins, D. F. (2026, March 18). AI chatbots and children's digital safety. Penn State Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/ai-chatbots-and-childrens-digital-safety. Accessed October 4, 2026.
  4. Brookings Institution. (2026). What is generative AI and what's at stake for kids? Parent tip sheet. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Brookings_What-is-AI_Flyer_DIGITAL.pdf. Accessed October 4, 2026.