Chicago Public Library welcomes a guest blog post from Dr. Jenny Radesky, a Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician. Her research interests include use of mobile technology by parents and young children and how this relates to child self-regulation and parent-child interaction. She also works with the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health and helped create CPL's Screen Time Guide for Families.
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more embedded in the world around us, it can be tempting to ask it to do the tedious tasks that fill up our days. Some parents are using AI to organize grocery shopping lists, respond to emails or answer parenting questions. Others would rather not use it at all!
It’s important that AI not replace the core human activities that we do with our families. These are the activities that build human skills that will help our children think for themselves, care about people around them, manage their emotions and handle struggle and daily challenges. Most parents would agree that we don’t want their kids to be dependent on AI for managing schoolwork, friendships or emotions - but life moves fast and it can be overwhelming to know where to start.
I find it helpful to think of building AI resilience in 3 main areas: how kids think, feel and relate to others. In other words, we want kids to be able to think for themselves, understand and manage their own feelings and enjoy feeling connected to others and can problem-solve through disagreements.
Here's how to protect these essential skills:
Thinking:
- Talk about technology and AI with your kids, modeling critical thinking. Who designed these tools? Why do they want us to use them? Who makes money when we use them?
- When you have a problem to solve, think it through out loud and even write out your plan. What options are you considering? Who can you ask for advice, other than AI?
Feeling:
- Make time for emotional connection with your kids - the best way to do this is through play! Make board and card games part of your family’s regular routine.
- Reading books together also allows snuggling, conversations and sharing imaginary experiences. (This is true even for older kids)
- Let your kids know that they can come to you with sad or angry emotions, and you’ll help them work through them. Better you than an AI chatbot!
Relating:
- Find ways for your child to be a helper, so they can see how good it feels to support someone else. This could be help doing chores, helping a neighbor, or caring for a pet.
- When your child thinks about characters who are different from them, it builds empathy, concepts like friendship and identity, and other social emotional skills. Reading also builds your child’s attention span.
By carving out tech-free time with kids, and intentionally making time for reading, music, art, nature and play, you can support the human skills that will be essential in the years to come
Read more about AI and families in these recent titles.
Human Raised: Local doctor and researcher Dana Suskind emphasizes human connection and keeping all messy parts of the childhood. She also offers ways to evaluate individual technologies as they develop.
Raising Critical Thinkers is more important than ever! This book offers reasoning to help parents understand why teaching critical thinking needs to start early, and offers concrete advice on how to do that as a parent.
Growing Up in Public: It's easier than ever for everyone to share their personal lives online. Learn more about both how parents can handle sharing their own lives and kids online and how to help your kids grow up in this environment.
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