Artificial intelligence is becoming part of children’s learning, entertainment and future careers. Adults need more than hype or fear. They need clear guidance about what AI can do, what it cannot do, when children are ready to use it and how to protect their privacy, wellbeing and independent thinking.
Build AI literacy, not AI dependence
Children should learn how AI systems recognise patterns, generate outputs and make mistakes. They should understand that confident language is not proof of accuracy and that important claims require verification.
Responsible AI use by age
- Ages 4-6: explore patterns, sorting and the difference between people and machines without independent chatbot use.
- Ages 7-9: use adult-led demonstrations to discuss training data, mistakes and privacy.
- Ages 10-12: complete supervised creative AI activities while practising fact-checking and protecting personal information.
- Ages 13-16: use age-permitted tools with family or school rules covering attribution, academic integrity, privacy and critical evaluation.
Digital safety is part of STEM education
Technical skill without responsible judgement is incomplete. Children need practical guidance on personal information, passwords, cyberbullying, scams, misinformation, deepfakes, persuasive design and healthy technology habits.
Visit the Digital Safety hub, explore parent guidance, or use our age-based STEM roadmaps.