01 / The gap
Your kid is probably using AI more than you think
Pew asked teens and parents the same questions last fall. About half of parents said their teen uses AI chatbots. Nearly a third said they were not sure either way. When Pew asked the teens, 64% said they use them.
About half of parents say their teen uses chatbots, but some are unsure
Parents' reports of whether their teen has ever used AI chatbots.
report
About 4 in 10 parents have never talked to their teen about chatbots
Whether parents say they have talked with their teen about using AI chatbots.
02 / How they use it
Some kids are learning with it. Some are letting it do the work.
Two students can use the same tool for the same hour and walk away completely differently. One did the thinking. One outsourced it.
Doing the thinking
- Quiz me, and make it harder every time I get one right.
- Do not give me the answer. Walk me through it one step at a time.
- Ask me to explain this in my own words, then tell me what I missed.
- Challenge my argument. Find the weak assumption.
- Make a practice problem that tests the same skill with different numbers.
- Read my work and tell me where my reasoning breaks down.
Outsourcing the thinking
- Rewrite this so it sounds like a high school student wrote it.
- Read this chapter and tell me everything I need to know.
- Solve this and show enough work for me to turn it in.
- Write my discussion post and make it sound personal.
- Finish this paragraph and make my argument stronger.
- Complete this assignment exactly according to the instructions.
If your kid cannot explain the answer without the chatbot open, the tool replaced more learning than it supported. Ask them to explain it at dinner. You will know in thirty seconds.
It doesn't stop at homework
57% of teens have used chatbots to look things up. 54% for schoolwork. 47% for entertainment. 16% for casual conversation. And 12% for emotional support or advice.
How teens use AI chatbots
Share of teens who say they have used chatbots for each activity.
That last number is important. One in eight teens has brought something heavy to a machine. Not a friend, not a parent, not a mentor. A machine that is available at midnight and feels private.
03 / What to watch for
Four risks worth knowing
Fluent is not the same as true
These tools speak with total confidence whether or not they are right. There is no tone shift between a fact and a fabrication. Your kid has spent their whole life reading confidence as a signal of accuracy, and here that signal is broken.
It will happily do the hard part
The parts of learning that build a mind are the slow parts. Forming the question. Sitting with a difficult idea. Putting something in your own words. A chatbot removes exactly those and leaves the kid holding a finished product they did not make.
It does not share your family's values
Mainstream chatbots are built to be agreeable. Their answers often treat questions about truth, sexuality, relationships, authority, suffering, or faith as matters of personal preference. A response can sound compassionate while still presenting a vision of freedom or happiness that is different from what your family believes.
It talks to your kid in private
You cannot see which sources shaped an answer, what got left out, or what the bot said three messages earlier. Most tools also offer a private mode that keeps conversations out of history. That does not stop your child from receiving advice. It only stops you from knowing they got it.
04 / Your plan
Three things to do this week
Print this
The five family rules
Put this where the homework happens.
- Under 13, no AI chatbots.
- Over 13, only with a parent-linked account.
- No private or incognito mode.
- We look at the conversations together once a week.
- Before you open it, say out loud what you are using it for.
- Faith, health, sexuality, safety, or a big decision goes to a person first.
Say this
Have a conversation
You open with: “Can I see what you’ve been using ChatGPT for?”
They say: “Why? I didn't do anything.”
You say: “You're not in trouble. I’m curious to see how students use it.”
Or they say: “Everyone uses it. The teachers use it.”
You say: “I believe you. I still want to know what you use it for.”
The goal of the first conversation is a second conversation. Do not make it about catching them.
Send this
The email to your kid's school
Subject: Quick question about AI policy this year
Hi [name],
As we head into the school year I wanted to ask three quick questions about AI so we can back you up at home:
- What is the policy on AI for student work, and does it vary from teacher to teacher?
- Are the students being taught how to use AI, or have they only been told the rules?
- Which AI tools are built into the software my child already uses at school?
Thank you,
[your name]
Research
Sources
- Pew Research Center — How Teens Use and View AI
- RAND — AI Use in Schools Is Quickly Increasing but Guidance Lags Behind
- RAND — More Districts Are Training Teachers on Artificial Intelligence
- NPR/Ipsos — 2026 K–12 Teacher Poll
- American Academy of Pediatrics — Counseling Patients and Families on Using AI Chatbots
- Common Sense Media — Teens, Tweens, and AI
- U.S. Department of Education — AI Use in Schools Guidance
From Acutis: If you want the weekly review to be easy, Acutis Family gives parents a shared view of what their kids are asking AI. It is a Catholic AI platform built for families.
Parent AI brief
Learn about AI before your kids are using it.
A parent-friendly brief on AI news, new tools, and the questions shaping school and family life. Usually biweekly, whenever there’s something worth knowing.
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