What should I tell my kids never to share with AI?
Teach children what stays private. Use made-up examples.
Keep a child's home address and school out of AI chats. Keep phone numbers, passwords and login codes out too. Do not add family money or health details.
Photos can reveal a face, school badge, address or place. Changing a name does not remove every clue about who someone is.
Check age and family rules before direct use of an app. You can do this lesson on paper with a parent or trusted adult. A child does not need to create an account.
- Use two made-up examples: a favorite color and a door code. Ask which one could let someone into a home.
- Explain that a request from a friendly-looking chat can still be unsafe.
- If a chat asks for secrets, private photos or a location, stop. Ask a trusted adult for help.
- If something upsetting appears, help the child leave the chat and report it. Make it clear that asking for help will not get them blamed.
Help an adult plan a paper lesson. Give three made-up examples of facts to keep private online. Do not include real codes, names or a child's facts.
Paste the message into ChatGPT, then fill in any blanks before you send it. ChatGPT opens in a new tab. Opening it does not send the message.
No child can spot every risk. The goal is to help them pause and know whom to ask.
Sources and more help
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