Your child asks a chatbot to "write a paragraph about the water cycle", copies it into their notebook and is done in two minutes. The homework is finished. But did they learn anything?
AI tools are now part of school life, and banning them at home rarely works. What works is teaching children to use AI the way a good tutor would be used: to help them think, not to think for them.
In short
Use AI to explain, quiz and give feedback. Not to write answers or essays.
Your child does the thinking first: their own attempt, then AI.
Check the age rules. ChatGPT and Gemini both set 13 as the usual minimum, with a parent's permission for teenagers.
Never share personal details with a chatbot: full name, school, address, photos.
AI makes mistakes, and sounds sure when it does. Teach your child to check.
Keep thinking and writing their own work, out loud and on paper.
Why "just ask the AI" can backfire
In a study with nearly a thousand high-school students in Turkey, students who practised maths with an ordinary ChatGPT-style assistant did much better on practice problems. But when the AI was taken away, they did worse in the exam than students who had never had it. Many had used it as a crutch, asking for answers instead of working problems out.
Students who used a version designed as a tutor, which gave hints instead of answers, did not have that drop (Bastani et al., 2025).
The lesson for parents: the same tool can help or harm learning, depending on how it is used.
What AI is good for (and what it isn't)
Good uses
Poor uses
Explaining a topic in simpler words
Writing the answer or essay
Making practice questions to test themselves
Summarising a book they haven't read
Feedback on a draft they wrote
Doing maths steps they should practise
"Explain it like I'm 10"
Facts they don't check
Simple family rules for AI and homework
1. Try first, then ask. Your child makes their own attempt first, even a messy one. AI comes after, to explain what went wrong or what to try next.
2. Ask for hints, not answers. Teach them to type "Give me a hint, not the answer" or "Ask me questions to help me work it out." Most chatbots will follow this.
3. Their words, their work. Anything handed in is written by your child. Copying AI text and calling it their own is plagiarism, and most schools treat it that way. Check your school's own AI rules.
4. Check one fact, every time. Pick one claim the AI made and check it in a textbook or a trusted website. AI can invent facts, quotes and even sources, and it sounds just as sure when it is wrong.
5. Use it where you can see it. For younger children, use AI together, on a shared screen in a shared room.
6. Talk about what they learned. Ask your child to explain the topic to you without the screen. If they can't, the AI did the learning, not them.
Age rules and privacy
ChatGPT: OpenAI's terms set 13 as the minimum age, and under-18s need a parent or guardian's permission.
Gemini: Google's usual minimum is 13, but parents can turn on access for younger children through Family Link, with extra filters.
Other countries may set higher ages. In 2023, UNESCO also suggested 13 as a minimum age for AI tools in classrooms.
Whatever the tool, teach these privacy rules:
No full name, school name, address, phone number or photos.
No passwords, and nothing they wouldn't want a stranger to read.
If a chatbot says something upsetting or strange, close it and tell you.
Teaching children to spot AI fakes
AI can now make realistic photos, voices and videos. Give your child three questions to ask before they believe or share something:
Who made this, and why? Is it from a source they know, or a random account?
Can I find it anywhere else? Real news is reported by more than one trusted source.
Does anything look odd? Strange hands, blurry text, voices out of sync, or a story that seems too shocking to be true.
Reading widely helps here too. Children who read and talk about many kinds of stories get better at asking whose voice they are hearing and what it leaves out.
Why reading and talking matter more now
When AI can produce a tidy paragraph in seconds, what makes a child stand out is what AI can't give them: their own opinion, their own story, and the ability to explain why they think what they think.
This is what our 1:1 online reading classes are built around. Your child reads a real book picked for their interests, talks it through with a trained college mentor, gives their own verdict on it and writes their own story, chapter by chapter. For ages 6–14 who can already read; the first 60-minute session is free.
Frequently asked questions
Should kids use AI for homework?
They can, as a helper: to explain a topic, quiz them or give feedback on their own draft. They shouldn't use it to write answers or essays they hand in. Agree the rules at home and check what their school allows.
What age can a child use ChatGPT?
OpenAI's terms say 13, with a parent or guardian's permission until 18. Younger children should only use AI tools designed for them, or together with an adult.
Is using AI for homework cheating?
Handing in AI-written work as your own usually counts as cheating. Using AI to understand a topic, then writing the answer yourself, usually doesn't. Every school sets its own rules, so check them.
How do I know if my child used AI for their homework?
Ask them to explain their answer in their own words, or to tell you how they worked it out. If they can't, talk about it calmly and agree on better rules for next time.
Can AI help a child who struggles at school?
It can explain things patiently and in simpler words, which helps some children. It works best alongside a teacher or parent who checks their understanding, and with your child doing the work themselves.
Sources
Bastani, H., Bastani, O., Sungu, A., Ge, H., Kabakcı, Ö., & Mariman, R. (2025). Generative AI without guardrails can harm learning: Evidence from high school mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
UNESCO (2023). Guidance for generative AI in education and research.
OpenAI, Terms of Use; Google, Gemini Apps help for supervised accounts.
How do I teach my child to spot deepfakes?
Teach three questions: who made this and why, can I find it from another trusted source, and does anything look odd? Practise together on things you see online.
