4 Ways I'm Preparing My 3-Year-Old for an AI World
July 25, 2025 • 7 min read
Last week, I watched my three-year-old daughter talk to Siri on her iPad. I wasn’t sure what to think. Should she be talking to AI at such a young age?
A new study from MIT shows that using AI can weaken critical thinking. Here is how I’m preparing my daughter for a world with AI, and why I think AI is like processed food.
The Study
MIT sought to answer the question: “What is the cognitive cost of using AI when writing an essay?”
Fifty-five participants ranging from 18 to 54 years old, with an average age of 23.
The participants were broken up into three groups:
- The Brain Only - no tools
- The Search Engine - access to a search engine
- The LLM Group - access to ChatGPT
Each participant had 20 minutes to write one essay.
How did each group fare? Let’s look at the results.
The Results
Both the Brain Only and the Search Engine Group had similar results. However, the LLM Group fared much worse on recall and critical thinking tests.
Why? Because The Brain Only and The Search Engine Groups organically wrote their essays, and had intimate knowledge of the content. Conversely, the LLM Group participants copied and pasted their answers directly from ChatGPT. When asked why, the LLM Group said they felt pressured by the 20-minute time limit.
The results? LLMs weaken critical thinking. In some young adults, critical thinking never developed. Relying solely on AI for critical thinking left participants gullible and lacking in creativity.
AI is Processed Food for the Brain
After reading the study, I now watch my daughter’s interactions with AI differently. I’m more aware of the conversations and the need to put guardrails on those conversations. I view AI similarly to how I view processed foods; it’s not malicious, but it can still be harmful over time if used incorrectly.
So, how do I prepare my daughter for a world where she’ll be interacting with AI on a daily basis?
Four Strategies
My first reaction was to forbid my daughter from accessing AI, but that’s not realistic. So instead of banning AI, I need to find a balanced approach. But what does that look like?
I’ve landed on four strategies to help my daughter navigate AI.
1. Mastery before Automation
My daughter must learn the skill before automating it.
An insight from the study is that understanding the subject and doing the work is key to expanding your knowledge and building critical thinking skills. AI’s instant answer doesn’t serve my daughter when AI gives instant answers, the “ah ha or “why” are lost. Being told and experiencing it are vastly different, even though they end in the same place.
For example, she’ll need to learn math before using AI to solve math problems. Why? Because when she figures out 7x3, she’ll not only know the answer, but learn patterns that she can apply to other math problems. Using AI robs her of that insight.
This is the same approach that master woodworkers take with their apprentices. Apprentices must first master joinery before they create joints with power tools.
2. AI is Magical, but Fallible
What’s lost in all the AI hype is that AI is often wrong.
For example, AI recently included glue as a key ingredient in pizza when asked for the perfect pizza.
When my daughter has the knowledge, she can recognize when AI is wrong. But she needs the knowledge.
Knowledge layers like sediment settling in a pond – each ‘why’, every book, each moment of curiosity adds another layer. Leaving an accumulated understanding that lets her spot AI’s wrong answers.
3. Hard is OK
‘Hard’ is where growth happens. What the study showed is that those who did the ‘hard’ grew in critical thinking skills and memory. Those who did the ‘easy’ lost critical thinking skills and couldn’t recall specifics. The study showed that there is no middle ground. You’re either gaining or losing.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “But Daddy, it’s tooo hard! Can you do it for me?” This is when I say, “Yes, it is hard, but that means you’re learning and growing.” To which she replies with, “But Daddy, I don’t want to grow right now.”
We live in an instant culture, and AI is yet another extension of it. Some things take time - learning is one of those things.
When my daughter struggles with an activity, she gets frustrated. I guide her in one of two directions:
- Help her overcome her challenge; sometimes, a little nudge in the right direction is all she needs.
- Or “let’s step away for a few minutes” and come back to the activity, this break allows her to collect herself and return to the activity fresh.
While my daughter isn’t quite old enough, another suggestion is using a “struggle jar.” Put hard-earned wins or almost wins in the jar. And celebrate the process of struggling, even if they’re not successful.
4. AI is a Thinking Partner, Not a Replacement
AI is here, and it’s only getting more intertwined with our daily lives. Some might interpret the study’s results as a warning not to use AI. That’s a wrong interpretation.
Much like processed foods, there’s a responsible way to use AI. Offloading your thinking to AI is the wrong way.
Think of AI as a study buddy who is sometimes wrong. The best study sessions are collaborative, where you question each other.
While my daughter is only three years old and this conversation is a few years away, I’m already thinking about what to say.
In my interactions with AI, I use a framework called “Think-Check-Create.” This helps me get the best out of AI without offloading my thinking to AI.
THINK First Create the first draft. Think about the topic, the problem, and the possible solutions. The more you explore your idea, the stronger the foundation you’ll start with.
CHECK with AI Ask for feedback on your first draft. Ask AI to qualify its answers—Challenge AI on its response. If needed, provide additional information for the conversation.
CREATE Something New Combine what you learned from AI with your knowledge and create something new. Don’t copy AI’s responses; instead, internalize them and write them in your voice. This forces you to make them your own.
Here is a simplified version:
Think: “Brain first.” Check: “AI feedback.” Create: “Combine in your voice.”
For example:
Think: Write all you know about elephants. Check: Ask AI for feedback on what you wrote and any facts about elephants you missed. Create: Combine the feedback from AI to create something new in your words about elephants.
This makes AI a tool that helps my daughter think and grow, and not an AI crutch that weakens her.
Closing
AI is here.
It’s not whether our children will use AI, it’s a matter of when. The question is: will they use it as a crutch or a tool? The next time my daughter tells me, “It’s too hard, Daddy!” I’ll remember that it means she’s learning, and the best thing I can do is support her. This might be a slight nudge over the finish line, or taking a break and going for a walk.
References
- Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI
- Claude used to critique and explore different idea threads
- https://autogenai.com/uk/blog/what-is-an-ai-hallucination/