Talk With Kids
What to say (and how to start)
Short, printable scripts for car rides and dinner. Pick one a week.
Pre-K
“Computers can talk, but they aren't people. They don't have feelings.”
“Let's call the speaker ‘it.’”
Elementary
“Where have you seen AI today?”
“What should we never tell a chatbot?”
“AI can be wrong. How could we check?”
Middle School
“Do you talk with AI chatbots sometimes? What about?”
“When you ask AI something, where does the answer come from?”
“Did AI make something easier? What skill did you skip?”
High School
“How could companies use what you tell a chatbot?”
“If someone made a fake picture of you, what would you do?”
“What's our family safe word?”
College
“What's your plan if a class bans AI?”
“Which AI uses actually make you better at something?”
“How will you spot a scam call?”
Starters for middle and high school are adapted from Brookings[1] and Brookings' privacy tip sheet[2]; deepfake and safe-word prompts draw on Thorn[3] and FBI guidance[4].
6 tips for any AI talk
- Talk about where AI shows up in your child's online life.
- Explain that online content isn't always real.
- Discuss harmful uses of AI in an age-appropriate way.
- Encourage checking the sources behind AI answers.
- Point them to trusted health and wellbeing resources.
- Make sure they know they can always come to a trusted adult.
5 steps for co-learning parents
Adapted from UNICEF USA[6]:
- Start with your child's natural curiosity about AI.
- Explore AI tools together to see what they can and can't do.
- Review privacy settings and talk about what's safe to share.
- Set boundaries and check in regularly.
- Use independent ratings and school-approved tool lists.
Family activity: 5 ways we used AI
Each of you writes five ways you or someone you know used AI recently. Compare lists, then talk: Did AI make something easier? What skills didn't you practice? Are those skills important? Recommended for ages 10 to 14.