As AI becomes increasingly common in education, students need to learn more than simply how to use tools like ChatGPT. They also need to understand when and how to use AI responsibly. Parents can help their children use AI to support learning without allowing it to replace their own thinking, while also teaching them to follow school policies, maintain academic integrity, verify AI-generated information, and take responsibility for their own work.
A 2026 study by the Brookings Institution, which drew on input from more than 500 education stakeholders across 50 countries and reviewed more than 400 studies, found that the risks of generative AI for children may currently outweigh its benefits. However, the issue is not AI itself, but how it is used. AI can enrich the learning process when it helps students understand difficult concepts, explore ideas, practice skills, or receive feedback when such use is permitted. But when AI replaces a student’s own thinking, research, or writing, it can undermine the very skills that education is meant to develop.
For this reason, students need to learn not only how to use ChatGPT, but also when to use it, when to step away from it, and how to use AI without compromising their learning or academic integrity.
1. Can AI Harm Students?
Concerns about AI in education go beyond the possibility of students using ChatGPT to cheat. The deeper concern is what happens when students begin to outsource their thinking to AI.
Learning requires effort. Students need opportunities to work through difficult questions on their own, make mistakes, develop arguments, evaluate evidence, and rethink their approach. When AI consistently takes over these processes, students may complete assignments more efficiently, but they may not develop the foundational skills behind them.
Using AI Wisely in Learning: Preparing for the U.S. Academic Environment
Overreliance on generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can weaken the learning process and hinder the development of students’ foundational skills. Brookings research distinguishes between AI-enriched learning, in which technology supports meaningful student engagement, and AI-diminished learning, in which excessive reliance on AI can weaken students’ ability to learn and act independently.
This is why the question is not simply whether AI is good or bad for students. A more important question is: Is AI helping students learn more effectively, or is it replacing the learning process itself? AI has the potential to be a valuable educational tool, but students need the knowledge and judgment to use it in ways that strengthen rather than replace their own thinking.
2. Why Should Parents Talk to Their Children About ChatGPT?
AI Is Changing How Students Learn
Generative AI has expanded the types of academic support available to students. With tools like ChatGPT, students can use AI to:
- Explain difficult concepts in simpler language
- Brainstorm ideas for projects and essays
- Generate practice questions
- Receive feedback on writing when AI use is permitted
- Summarize information
- Explore potential research topics
- Organize and structure their thoughts
These capabilities can be useful, especially when students use AI to deepen their understanding rather than avoid the learning process.
At the same time, AI is changing what it means to complete schoolwork independently. A student who submits an AI-generated essay may receive a polished, complete piece of writing without actually developing the ability to construct an argument, evaluate evidence, or communicate ideas effectively. If AI takes over the thinking that students are expected to do themselves, they may finish an assignment while missing the educational value of completing it.
Schools Are Developing Their Own AI Use Policies
Another reason parents should talk with their children about AI is that there is currently no single set of rules governing AI use across every classroom. Policies can vary by school, teacher, subject, and assignment.
For example, one teacher may allow students to use AI to brainstorm ideas but prohibit them from including AI-generated sentences in their final submission. Another teacher may allow AI for proofreading and editing but require students to disclose that they used AI. Meanwhile, a particular assignment may prohibit AI altogether because the teacher wants to assess the student’s independent understanding of the material.
For this reason, students should develop the habit of checking the rules before using AI.
AI Literacy Is Becoming an Academic Skill
AI literacy is sometimes understood simply as knowing how to operate an AI tool or write effective prompts. For students, however, the concept is much broader. A student with strong AI literacy should understand:
- What AI tools are designed to do
- What AI does well and where its limitations lie
- Why AI-generated information may sometimes be inaccurate
- How to evaluate information and claims generated by AI
- How to verify sources and cite information appropriately
- When AI use is permitted
- When AI use needs to be disclosed
- How to maintain ownership and responsibility for their academic work
AI literacy is closely connected to critical thinking and information literacy. Knowing how to ask ChatGPT a good question is useful. Knowing whether ChatGPT’s answer is trustworthy is much more important.
3. What Should Parents Teach Their Children About ChatGPT?
AI Is a Tool, Not a Replacement for Thinking
AI should support a student’s thinking process, not replace it. Students can use AI to explore ideas, practice concepts, or receive feedback when such use is permitted, but they should remain responsible for understanding the material and completing their own work.
Parents can encourage this by asking questions such as, “What did AI help you learn?” and “Can you explain this in your own words?” If a student cannot explain or defend their own work, it may be a sign that they are relying too heavily on AI.
Always Understand Your School’s AI Use Policies
Before using AI for an assignment, students should understand how much AI assistance their teacher and school allow. Parents can encourage their children to ask:
- Does this assignment allow the use of AI?
- What types of AI assistance are permitted?
- Can I use AI to brainstorm ideas?
- Can I use AI to check grammar or provide feedback?
- Can AI-generated text appear in my final submission?
- Do I need to disclose or document that I used AI?
Rather than assuming that the same rules apply to every assignment, students should develop the habit of reading instructions carefully and asking for clarification when they are unsure.
Don’t Assume Everything AI Generates Is Accurate
One of the most important limitations of generative AI is that it can produce information that sounds convincing but is inaccurate. This is particularly important when conducting research or doing academic writing because an answer can appear highly credible even when the underlying information is incorrect.
Learn How to Verify AI-Generated Information
Teaching children to question information provided by AI is only the first step. They also need to know how to verify what AI generates. Encourage your child to cross-check important information against reliable sources, such as academic research, books, university websites, and government sources. Students should also independently verify any sources and citations provided by AI rather than assuming they are legitimate or accurately represented.
Understand Academic Integrity
AI also raises an important question about academic integrity: Who actually completed the work? Academic integrity means being honest about your learning process and your work, including the sources you used, the assistance you received, and the work you actually contributed yourself.
Students should understand concepts such as plagiarism, unauthorized assistance, fabrication, and misrepresentation of authorship. AI can make these issues more complicated because a student may not directly copy from another person, yet still submit work that was largely generated by an AI system when the assignment requires them to complete the work independently.
Know When AI Is Actually Helpful
Using AI responsibly does not mean avoiding it altogether. When permitted, students can use AI to support their learning. For example, they can use AI to develop ideas, explain difficult concepts, generate practice questions, organize their thoughts, or receive feedback on their writing.
However, AI should not replace a student’s original thinking, independent preparation, genuine understanding, or ability to write and conduct research independently.
4. How Can Parents Help Their Children Develop Responsible AI Habits?
Parents do not need to become AI experts to help their children develop healthy habits around AI. In many cases, one of the most valuable things parents can do is simply start the right conversations.
Talk With Your Child About AI
Rather than waiting for a problem to arise, talk with your child about how AI is being used at school. Ask what types of AI use their teachers allow, how AI can be used for assignments, and whether they have been taught how to verify information generated by AI.
When discussing a specific assignment, focus on the process rather than simply asking whether your child used AI. Ask what they thought about before turning to AI, how AI helped them, what information they verified, and what they changed or developed on their own. This approach encourages self-reflection, accountability, and meaningful learning.
Encourage Your Child to Verify Information
Whenever your child uses AI for research or factual information, encourage them to verify important information through reliable sources. This is a useful habit that extends beyond ChatGPT. Being able to distinguish reliable information from misinformation is an essential skill for students in a world increasingly filled with information.
Review Your School’s Policies Together
Parents and students should take time to review the school’s policies on academic integrity and AI use, if the school has established them. Parents can help their children understand that expectations may differ from one class to another. Ultimately, students are responsible for following the requirements of each individual assignment.
Encourage Independent Thinking
When faced with a difficult problem or question, students do not necessarily need to turn to AI for an answer right away. Encourage your child to try solving the problem independently first, explain what they already understand, identify where they are struggling, and then, if permitted, use AI as a tool to clarify the issue. The goal is to help students become better learners by working through challenges.
Build Responsible AI Skills With Guidance From Educators
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into education, students need more than technical familiarity with tools like ChatGPT. They also need the judgment to use these tools responsibly in real academic situations.
Mastering AI for Academic Success
Learn how to use AI responsibly and effectively in academic work. AI SMART helps students understand school AI policies, protect academic integrity, evaluate AI-generated information critically, and use AI as a legitimate tool for learning, research, and writing.
The AI SMART program is designed specifically for students in Grades 6–12 and focuses on three core areas:
- Understand AI Use Policies: Learn how to distinguish between appropriate, questionable, and inappropriate uses of AI, while understanding why AI policies may vary by teacher, assignment, and school.
- Protect Academic Integrity: Learn the foundational principles of academic integrity and how to identify common issues in AI-generated content.
- Use AI Appropriately for Learning, Research, and Writing: Learn how to use AI responsibly for activities such as brainstorming, explaining concepts, practicing, supporting research, and receiving permitted feedback.
The program is designed to turn these concepts into practical skills. Rather than simply learning theoretical rules, students work through realistic academic scenarios and practice making informed decisions about when and how to use AI.
The course will be taught by a former English teacher at a top-30 U.S. boarding school with nearly 20 years of teaching experience. He has an in-depth understanding of academic standards at U.S. high schools and specializes in helping students develop their essay-writing skills and independent thinking.
