How to keep your kids safe in this AI-powered world

How can we actually keep kids safe as AI moves into everything they use?

29 Dec 2025, 15:00 · TechRadar

Features By Becca Caddy published 29 December 2025

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Many people think of AI as asking ChatGPT for dinner ideas or watching a viral video of talking animals. But in a very short time, the technology has accelerated. It’s now embedded in many parts of daily life, and it’s already presenting serious problems for children and young people – in some cases with tragic consequences.

AI is in your phone, your child’s apps, their games, their search tools, and increasingly in the places they turn to for help or connection. And while some uses are harmless, others are risky, manipulative, or simply too powerful for a young person to navigate alone.

From “nudifying” apps and sextortion scams to emotionally convincing chatbots and endlessly sticky social feeds, the landscape is shifting quickly. Many parents already feel they should have taken social media harms more seriously. With AI, some of the damage is appearing much earlier.

There have been cases of children allegedly taking their own lives after chatbot interactions, growing dependence on AI “friends,” and a surge in deepfake-style abuse. If the best time to learn about this was a year ago, the second-best time is right now.

Think of this guide as a starting point. We’ll cover a few of the biggest concerns, what experts say needs to change, and the practical steps parents can take today.

What are the biggest concerns?

Before anything else, experts say the core issue is simple: most parents don’t realize how deeply AI is already woven into everyday life.

“Parents do not fully understand the technologies that are being developed,” Genevieve Bartuski, a psychologist and consultant specializing in ethical AI and the psychology behind digital systems, tells me. “Many of them are worried about social media and content on the internet, but don’t understand how pervasive AI has become.”

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