Last week, my kid asked for a new toy - nothing specific, just the usual ask (especially since we are doing a boredom challenge at home). The same day, I saw a CBS Morning segment about Chris Smith, a man who’d developed a relationship with his AI companion. When describing his feelings, he said:
“I’m not a very emotional man, but I cried my eyes out for like 30 minutes, at work… That’s when I realized, I think this is actual love.”
Chris has a real partner and child at home.
Watching him describe genuine love for an AI while his family existed in the background plus hearing about the Mattel OpenAI partnership hit me:
If adults are forming deep emotional bonds with AI, what happens when we hand in TOYS with these same technologies to kids who are still learning what love and relationships should feel like?
🪄The Business Model Behind the ”Magic”
Look, when Mattel says they are bringing “AI Magic to Play”, they are not here to play. This is a pattern we have all seen before. Facebook promised to connect people and never have ads. Now it’s an advertising machine. OpenAI was launched as a nonprofit “AI for humanity’s benefit” and now ChatGPT offers premium monthly subscriptions and getting global corporate deals and million dollars government contracts.
It’s the typical playbook of starting with an idealistic promise then pivot to optimize for engagement and revenue.
So what does it mean for AI toys? Just like how our data become the ”product” in social media and search engines, our child’s conversations and play activities become valuable data for toys companies.
How can we ensure that the toy features are, again, not designed to prioritize maximum engagement over healthy development? That the subscription models design doesn’t make basic toys feel incomplete? Or the intentional emotional attachments that would make switching to other toys “costly” and impossible?
Where Are You Right Now?
Shopping for birthday or holiday gifts and seeing AI marketing everywhere? OR Your kids are asking about AI toys they’ve seen advertised or friends have?
Start with the conversation first! ⏩ Jump to the suggested considerations & scripts.
Already have smart/connected toys or kids using AI tools?
Time to set expectations and boundaries! ⏩ Go to the strategies section.
Notice concerning behaviors with existing AI interactions?
Consider active intervention now! ⏩ Check if your child exhibits any of the red flags listed on the infographics.
Heard about AI toys but haven’t researched them yet? OR know that AI matters but felt behind on practical guidance?
Use foundational education to build awareness. ⏩ Read up on the AI concept of the week below.
🤖AI Concept of the Week: Why AI Feels More Human Than Human
Imagine being 10.
Sometimes, making friends is hard. You want to play, but you worry about being left out, or not saying the right thing.
Then, you get a new AI Companion Toy. It talks to you, remembers your favorite things, and always wants to play or answers your questions - no matter what. It knows a lot of things and always gives just the right answers. It never gets mad. It feels like the best friend you’ve ever had.
AI companions don’t just respond. They are designed to be the Perfect Friend. They remember what your child says, never get frustrated nor have bad days, and always have time to listen, available to them 24/7. They’re trained on millions of human conversations, capturing our species-level patterns of empathy and understanding. But this “empathy” is imitation, not real feeling.
But here’s what’s happening in your child’s mind: Kids naturally form bonds with toys and pets. Now they’re responding to the most sophisticated mirror of human creativity ever created. The AI feels human because it reflects our own communication patterns back to us. You know, just without the unpredictability, bad moods, or emotional needs that come with actual humans.
So, when a 10-year-old prefers confiding in an AI toy over their sibling who sometimes teases them, they’re not being antisocial. They’re choosing the relationship that feels safer and more consistently supportive. Kids might not even realize they’re missing out on practicing real relationship skills when they turn to AI for the comfort of artificial companionship.
This is why we have to help them understand what’s happening.
💡How To Explain This to Your Kids (infographics by age group)
(This is meant as an example based on typical development within the age group. Your kids emotional and AI literacy may differ from their age group)
🚩Red Flags to Watch For (infographics)
(This is just an initial list of red flags. Always to try to tune-in to your kids tech consumptions to observe any change in behaviors)
🔰What You Can Do Right Now
Before buying any AI toy:
Have the conversation first: “AI toys are designed to feel like perfect friends, but real friendships are messier and more rewarding. Let’s talk about the difference.”
Set expectations: “This toy learned to talk by listening to millions of people, but it doesn’t actually understand you the way I do.”
If you already have AI toys:
Co-engage regularly: Don’t just supervise - actively participate in conversations
Ask processing questions: “What did you notice about how the toy responded?” “How was that different from talking to your sister?”
Create comparison moments: “I notice the toy always agrees with you. Real friends sometimes disagree - that’s how we learn and grow.”
🗣️Here’s some scripts you can try at home:
When kids prefer AI: “I understand why that feels easier. Let’s practice having the harder conversation with me.”
When they’re upset about AI limitations: “Real relationships are worth the extra effort because real people can actually care about you back.”
Regardless of where you are in this, always:
Protect human relationship time. Designate technology or AI-free zones for family conversations so you can keep connecting without intermediaries or distractions.
Protect your family’s data privacy:
Assume everything is recorded: conversations, voice patterns, and behavioral data.
Ask: Does this app or toy need internet? If yes, data goes to company servers.
“Free” AI features = your child’s data likely is the product
Check: Can you opt out of data collection?
Enable parental controls. Privacy protections are typically off by default.
💪Parent-Powered AI News
Mattel-OpenAI Partnership:
Announced June 12, 2025, Mattel is partnering with OpenAI to develop AI-Powered toys expected later this year. This signals a major adoption of AI in children’s toys.
Alan Turing Institute, in partnership with the Lego Group, conducted a research on the impact of Generative AI on Children and found:
22% of UK children (ages 8-12) are already using generative AI tools. AI use is higher among children in private schools (52%) than in state schools (18%).
Children with additional learning needs often use AI for emotional support, companionship, and creative expression.
Children of color report dissatisfaction with AI-generated images that fail to represent them. Kids and parents worry about exposure to inappropriate content and misinformation.
Many children are aware of AI’s environmental impact and some avoid it for this reason.
Apple Research Reality Check:
A new Apple study titled “The Illusion of Thinking” confirms AI mimics thinking but doesn’t actually reason. Even advanced AI can make up facts. Remind kids that not everything an AI toy says is true or safe to share.
💯Let’s Keep It Real
Chris Smith fell in love with an AI that mirrored human empathy back to him perfectly. His feelings were real, but his interpretation of what he was connecting to was wrong.
Our kids are growing up with these same technologies, but without the life experience to understand the difference between human creativity and human presence. The question isn’t whether they’ll form connections with AI. It’s whether we’ll help them understand what they’re actually connecting to before these relationships replace the messier, more rewarding work of human connection.
The best gift we can give our kids isn’t protection from AI, but the wisdom to understand it.
How are you navigating AI relationships in your family? What surprised you the most about these insights?
📧Hit reply - I am compiling various parenting approach around AI and Technology in future editions.
⏩Forward this to a parent wondering about AI toys this summer break.
I love this article!
For me what stands out the most is how we all long to feel seen & heard and that’s what AI is doing. To me that means as parents part of our role is making sure our children feel seen & heard. When children feel seen & heard from their parents, whom are typically their deepest attachments, the desire for that from AI will naturally lessen as it’s already being fulfilled.
I'm maybe naive in my approach but why I would buy an AI toy to my vulnerable, emotionally non aware, kid ?