≈ “Fool Me Once” - Toys and AI ≈

We received a surprising number of interesting emails after our last blog, “AI as Friends,” which basically asked, perhaps uncomfortably, whether stuffed animals should be your child’s besties. The responses ran the full spectrum, exactly as you’d expect. Some were in complete agreement, some landed in the “yes, but…” category, and a few were firmly in the kids should interact with AI early, while their brains are most absorbent camp. There were even a handful of “Wait… they can do that?” reactions. And honestly, that’s all good. Anything that sparks real discussion is worth writing about.

Love it huh :)

Having just past the heart of gift-giving season, we thought it was a good time to build on that interest and talk specifically about children and interactive AI toys. Full transparency: this blog is essentially the result of a discussion between me and… me. We’ve known each other a long time. Our thoughts are informed by research, experience, outside discussions, and a fair amount of internal debate. We don’t always agree, but we're forced to be honest with each other.

What we heard on AI toys most clearly from your emails was this: simple learning toys, letters, numbers, colors, great. Traditional stuffed animals that sing songs or tell simple stories? Also fine. Even tech-based toys kids use with their friends? Acceptable. But there was a hard stop when toys became the friend. No one said AI toys are inherently bad. The concern was timing. What's the age. "Better three hours too soon than a minute too late", (William Shakespeare), was one of the good comments.

Let them build!

So, knowing my own family will say “knock yourself out,” I’m going to make the case that AI toys don’t belong in children’s hands until kids are old enough to understand that they’re toys, not sources of truth, and definitely not friends. What age is that? You know your child better than anyone. Just remember two things, the window parents have to manage a child’s relationship with technology starts when children know only what you give them and closes the moment they can say, “But Sammy’s mom…”, and, more importantly, the choice is totally yours. (Cato Institute).

The reality is that today’s kids will and should work with AI. AI will touch everything, from medical diagnostics to home construction, creating solutions we couldn’t think of, and their lives will be shaped in ways that even AI has not yet dreamed up. Early exposure is a pre-req to preparing children for a technology-driven future. But it’s also a reality that device use negatively impacts children’s mental and physical health, especially when they’re young and trusting. So if we know that it’s hard to conceive that starting kids even younger improves that result. (Harvard).

Childhood moves fast. Parents have a relatively short window—especially in the early years—when they have near-exclusive influence over how children learn to think, develop their minds, and build values. That matters.

Something to do with your family

Our position (mine and mine) is simple: kids need space to imagine, to invent stories, to design worlds, and to play without a machine shaping the narrative. My kids were young once. Come to think of it, my grandkids were young once. 😐  I'm ok with kids having private conversations with their imaginary friends wrapped up in a teddy bear, but there’s something fundamentally off about the teddy bear kicking in it's own opinion. As history has shown, there’s an age for everything, and the age should be when they understand the difference.

So yes, it’s your choice. But you can’t say you didn’t know.

Please keep the comments coming, let us know what you think!

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If you click on a product link in any of our Blogs and make a purchase you’ll be buying directly from that store and we will receive a commission on any products purchased. The purchase price isn't affected and the store will be responsible for all things involved in that order.