Children and chatbots: What parents should know

The article explores how children increasingly use generative AI chatbots for homework, advice, and companionship, highlighting risks such as social and psychological dependence, misinformation and hallucinations, exposure to inappropriate content (including via jailbreaks), and privacy harms from sharing personal data. It urges parents to combine open, non-punitive conversations with practical safeguards—age-appropriate platforms, parental controls, time limits, privacy settings, and critical-thinking education—so AI remains a tool and does not replace human relationships.