AI reshaping modern parenting

Imagination haven

In Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Li Ge found that AI offered her 6-year-old son a partner with hyper-specific interests.

The boy uses an AI chatbot daily to orchestrate complex imaginary battles based on his favorite video game, Plants vs Zombies.

"I just can't match it. I don't know the games well and, honestly, I'm not interested. But AI understands all the terminology," Li said.

The boy physically builds forts with pillows and toys, then tells AI that zombies are attacking.

The AI responds with detailed advice: "Make sure you have enough food in your fortress. The enemy is approaching. I'm on my way. Don't worry." For up to an hour a day, the boy is entirely absorbed, freeing up his parents.

The boy has also begun designing simple games with AI tools. Inspired by the silkworms he keeps at home, he made a feeding and life-cycle game. Players drop mulberry leaves, and the silkworm grows, gains energy and health points, and eventually progresses through its developmental stages. It even requires the player to clean up droppings.

"He hated it when the AI just drew a flat oval shape with dots. He wanted a real, 3D silkworm. Each model produced a different result. He loves anything that visibly changes. He doesn't like fish, because they stay the same," Li said.

The mother said the interactions have improved her son's communication skills. When AI misunderstands, he must rephrase and clarify his intent, which sharpens his precision. He also picks up new vocabulary, as AI tends to respond at a level slightly above his own, which is advanced enough to stretch him, but never too difficult.

The AI offers strong emotional support. "He feels like the leader of his own world, with everything revolving around his decisions," the mother said. This worried her at first. But her son leads a normal social life at kindergarten and happily plays with friends in the neighborhood. Those play dates require compromise and following rules. His time with AI, she realized, serves a different need.

"He needs a space where he doesn't have to accommodate anyone else, where he can completely release and direct everything. For him, talking to AI is relaxing," Li said.

As AI tools become permanent fixtures in household life, regulators and developers face growing pressure to adapt. Legal experts like Zhao argue that platforms must be legally mandated to provide dedicated "minor modes" that curb sycophantic tendencies and enforce healthier boundaries.

For now, parents are inventing their own rules on the fly — treating AI not as a full replacement for human parenting, but as an imperfect assistant.

"I guess the main thing I can learn from the AI is its patience — and how to actually get my child to listen to what I'm saying," said Zhu in Hangzhou.