We taught kids the internet too late. Don't do that with AI.
Most 9-year-olds I talk to already use AI. They don't call it that. They call it "the homework site," a YouTube recap, or a chatbot that "helps me write."
We did this with the internet. We waited until there was a problem — a stranger, a photo, a grade that didn't match the kid — then we made rules. By then the habit was set.
AI is faster. It sounds like a person. It never gets tired of your child. And it will happily think for them if you let it.
Three things that actually work at 6–12:
Say "guessing machine," not "smart computer." Fluency is not understanding.
Nothing goes in a chatbot you wouldn't put on a cafeteria poster. Name, school, photos, family arguments — none of it.
They try the hard thing first. Five minutes of being stuck is the point. Then, maybe, a tool.
If you want the full parent course, family rules sheet, and a place to ask "is this okay?" — that's what Tutorly is. Not tutoring. Literacy.
What's the first AI tool your kid already uses that they don't think of as AI?
