Ask: “After using this workbook, will my child be better at questioning, checking, creating and explaining—or have they only learnt a few AI buzzwords?”
Look past the shiny cover
Parents are right to want something practical. AI is moving quickly, but children need stable habits: curiosity, privacy, critical thinking, communication and the confidence to ask an adult for help.
Seven things worth checking
Clear age fit
The language, tasks and emotional expectations should suit the child’s developmental stage.
Adult guidance
Parents should know what to do before, during and after each activity.
Hands-on missions
Children should make, test, compare or explain—not just read definitions.
Safety built in
Privacy, verification, screen boundaries and escalation guidance should be part of the experience.
Human creativity
The child’s choices should matter more than the tool’s output.
Room for conversation
Good prompts give an adult a natural reason to ask what the child noticed.
A finish line
Each activity should end in a reflection, artefact or skill the child can use without AI.
Honest promise
It should teach responsible use, not promise that AI will make every task effortless.
Questions to ask before you choose
- Is this designed for the age of my child?
- Does it work with a parent who is not a programmer?
- Does it explain what to do when an AI answer is wrong?
- Does it protect children from oversharing?
- Can my child show me what they learnt?
Why a workbook can help
A blank chat window creates too much freedom too soon. A thoughtfully structured workbook gives the family a shared route: one mission, one conversation, one reflection. It also makes progress visible when the child is not yet able to describe “AI literacy” in grown-up language.
UNESCO recommends human-centred and age-appropriate approaches to generative AI in education, while UNICEF emphasises safety, privacy, inclusion and children’s development. UNESCO guidance · UNICEF guidance.
What AI Explorers is designed to do
AI Explorers is a parent-guided workbook for ages 9–11. It uses short activities to help children explore AI, ask better questions and practise judgement without making the parent learn a new technical language first.