Help
Parents’ questions about children and AI
Two kinds of question: what to do about children and AI, answered from the book, and the practical ones about buying, signing in and reading. If yours is not here, email us and it may be added.
Children and AI
Should my child use ChatGPT for homework?
Yes, with rules. Banning it does not work; children simply use it elsewhere. The book recommends two habits: the 20-Minute Rule (struggle with the problem for 20 minutes before asking an AI) and the V.E.T. rule (Verify the facts, Explain the idea in your own words, Transform the output into your own work). Copying and pasting AI text straight into schoolwork is the red flag to watch for.
What is the 20-Minute Rule?
A simple family agreement: before turning to an AI for help with any problem, a maths equation or a history essay, your child first spends at least 20 minutes working on it alone. The struggle is where learning happens. The rule turns AI from a shortcut into a tutor that arrives after real effort, and it is the everyday version of the learning science in Chapter 4.
What is the V.E.T. rule?
V.E.T. stands for Verify, Explain, Transform. Verify: check the facts an AI gives you against a reliable source, because AI systems confidently make things up. Explain: put the idea in your own words to prove you understand it. Transform: turn the AI output into something that is genuinely yours. It is a three-step checklist children can apply to any AI answer.
What is a Family AI Agreement, and how do we make one?
A short, signed charter your family writes together about how AI is used at home. It pairs each rule with the value behind it, for example the 20-Minute Rule with valuing the process of learning, and privacy rules with valuing safety. It is a conversation about shared values, not a list of punishments. The free builder on this site lets you choose commitments, add your own, and print it for the fridge.
Should I just ban AI at home?
No. Banning is futile because children use AI outside the home, constant monitoring is exhausting and erodes trust, and ignoring it wastes the chance to guide them. The book proposes a third role, the Digital Guardian: a parent who walks alongside the child, asks questions, sets a few clear boundaries, and builds the judgement a child needs when no one is watching.
What are the five skills AI cannot replace?
Resilience (learning from setbacks), curiosity (asking meaningful questions), adaptability (the Try-Learn-Adjust loop when things change), systems thinking (seeing the bigger picture), and empathy (understanding human needs and emotions in ways no algorithm can). Research consistently identifies these as the foundational capacities that produce the rest, so the book builds one chapter around each, with age-specific tips.
Read more: Chapter 3: The Five Essential Skills for an AI Future →
What age is this for? When should I start?
The book covers children from 5 to 18, with tips split into ages 5 to 8, 9 to 12 and 13 to 18. You can start young through play and conversation rather than tools: a five-year-old builds resilience by persisting at a game, not by using a chatbot. Signs a topic is too early include glazing over within two minutes or repeating your words without engagement; if so, simplify and wait.
Can AI be wrong?
Yes, and confidently. Large language models predict likely words rather than understand facts, so they can produce a plausible answer that is completely false, delivered in the same assured tone as a true one. This is called hallucination. Teaching children to question AI output is a non-negotiable part of modern literacy, which is exactly what the Verify step of V.E.T. is for.
How do I check whether an AI app is safe for my child?
Spend five minutes on the tool your child uses most and look for three things in its privacy policy: whether it has a children’s mode or version, whether it collects data from minors, and what age it is designed for. Missing answers are information in themselves. You may keep using it with more guidance or switch to a tool built for children, but either way you decide knowingly.
What about deepfakes and AI-generated images?
Treat them as a social and ethical issue, not just a technical one. Children may be tempted to make a deepfake of a friend as a joke; ask how they would feel on the receiving end, and whether it could be used to humiliate someone later. The book also explains the liar’s dividend: once any video can be fake, real evidence gets dismissed too.
How much unstructured, screen-free time does my child need?
The danger is not screens replacing outdoors so much as the elimination of boredom, where creativity begins. The book suggests at least 90 minutes of unstructured free play a day for ages 5 to 8, three device-free, unscheduled 45-minute blocks a week for ages 9 to 12, and modelled off-screen downtime for teenagers. Let the first ten minutes of boredom pass before stepping in.
Read more: Chapter 13: Everyday Practices That Build AI-Ready Skills →
How do I talk to a teenager about AI without a fight?
Lead with curiosity, not accusation. Ask them to show you how they use it and what it is good and bad at; you will learn something and they will feel respected rather than policed. Then agree a few boundaries together in a Family AI Agreement so the rules are shared values rather than surveillance. The book’s scenarios for ages 13 to 18 give you the words.
Buying and accessing the book
What exactly do I get, and what is free?
Free, no account needed: the Introduction and Chapter 1 (with audio), the Family AI Agreement builder, and these answers. The complete digital edition is a one-time payment for all 23 chapters with 20 figures, the chapter narrations, the driving mode, and the printable Companion Pack of 14 worksheets, posters and cards.
Is it an ebook, a PDF or a printed book?
It is an online reader: you read in your browser on a phone, tablet or laptop, signed in with your email. It needs an internet connection. It is not a PDF or Kindle file and there is no printed edition. The worksheets in the Companion Pack are designed to be printed.
Which chapters have audio right now?
The contents page shows a Listen button on every chapter that has a narration today; the Introduction and Chapter 1 are free to listen to. Remaining chapters are being recorded in Dennis’s voice and are added to your copy as they are finished, at no extra cost.
How do I sign in if I have never created an account?
There is no password. Enter your email, we send you a link, and tapping it signs you in and creates your account in one step. The same email is what your purchase is linked to, so use one you will keep. Each link works once; if it has expired, ask for a new one.
Can my partner read it too? Can I use it on more than one device?
Sign in with your email on as many of your own devices as you like. The purchase is for personal use within your household, not for sharing outside it or reselling. The Family AI Agreement and the Companion Pack worksheets may be printed for your own household or classroom.
Is my reading progress saved between devices?
Your purchase is linked to your email and works everywhere. Reading position, display settings and reflection notes are stored in the browser you are using and are not sent to us, which is a privacy choice. Signing in on another device starts those fresh, and clearing browser data removes them.
How do I pay, and in which currency?
In South Africa you pay in Rand through PayFast (card, instant EFT and the other PayFast options). Outside South Africa you pay in US dollars by card through Stripe. The price card shows the right one for where you are, with a link to switch. Have a discount code? There is a “Have a discount code?” link under every Unlock button; enter it before you go to the payment page.
What if I paid and the book has not unlocked?
Refresh the contents page first; access normally unlocks within a minute. If it has not, email us with the address you paid with and your order or payment reference and we will restore access promptly, usually the same day. Your money-back guarantee still applies.
What is the refund policy?
A full refund within 14 days of purchase, no reason needed. Email us from the address you paid with. Refunds go back to the payment method you used through PayFast or Stripe.
Does Dennis Kriel speak at schools?
Yes. He runs a parent evening, AI and Your Child: A Parent’s Guide, and a learner session for Grade 7 and up, AI and You: Using It Wisely, Using It Well, in English or Afrikaans, in South Africa and internationally. Formats range from a 45-minute talk to multi-week programmes.