AI at Home: The Parent's GuideExpert Edition
Kids, chatbots, AI companions, deepfakes, homework, and family rules.
What kids are actually doing with chatbots, the age rules in each major tool's own terms, the parent controls that exist today, and what the FBI and FTC say about deepfakes and sextortion, with a family agreement and conversation scripts you can use tonight.
47 pages · 13 chapters · 3 figures · 5 worksheets
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Three pages, unedited.
The cover, the contents, and a page from the book exactly as you will receive it. Tap any page to enlarge it.
Written for you if
- Parents and caregivers of children ages 5 to 17 who want to know what kids are actually doing with chatbots, and why.
- Parents who want the minimum age and the parent controls for ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Character.AI, Meta AI, and Snapchat's My AI in one place, read from each company's own pages.
- Families who want written rules, a one-page agreement, homework rules, and conversation scripts for each age.
- Anyone who needs to know what to do, in order, if a child is threatened online or an explicit image, real or made with AI, is shared.
Chapter by chapter.
- 01
How Kids Use Chatbots Now
What Pew Research Center found about how many US teens use AI chatbots, which ones, and for what, the gap between what teens report and what parents know, and why the FTC is watching.
- 02
The Age Rules and Parent Controls, Tool by Tool
The minimum age in each major chatbot's own terms, what changes for users under 18, the controls a parent has with the menu paths the companies publish, ChatGPT's automatic teen mode, and the age check Roblox now requires to chat.
- 03
Privacy and COPPA
What the federal children's privacy law covers, what changed in 2025, why teens fall outside it, what schools can consent to, and the privacy rules a family can enforce itself.
- 04
AI Companions and Emotional Reliance
Why chatbots built to feel like friends concern regulators, what the companies have changed, the signs that use has become reliance, and what to do if a child is struggling.
- 05
Deepfakes and the TAKE IT DOWN Act
Why AI-altered explicit images of minors are illegal, the federal law that requires platforms to remove intimate images within 48 hours of a request, and the free tools that get images taken down.
- 06
Sextortion
How financially motivated sextortion works, who it targets most, and the FBI's steps if it happens, in an order a panicked parent or teen can follow.
- 07
Homework and Academic Integrity
What teens say about AI and cheating, what federal education policy says, and a homework rule set that separates learning help from doing the work.
- 08
Family AI Rules and the One-Page Agreement
Eight family rules built from the risks in Part II, and a one-page agreement to sign together and post where devices charge.
- 09
Conversation Scripts by Age
Words to start the conversations that matter, for ages 5 to 8, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, and 16 to 17.
- 10
Device-Level Controls: Apple, Google, Microsoft
The controls underneath every app: which apps can be installed, which websites open, how long a device can be used, and which built-in AI features are on, with each menu path from the company's own help page.
- 11
Voice Clones, AI Toys, and the Family Safe Word
How criminals use a short clip of a family member's voice to fake an emergency, the FBI's advice to set a family code word, a call-back routine the whole family can learn, and what testers found inside AI toys.
- 12
The New State Laws on Companion and Therapy Chatbots
The four state laws that now set rules for chatbots built to act like friends or therapists: what each requires, who enforces it, and what it lets a family do.
- 13
The Quick Reference Vault
Numbers to save, minimum ages, the sextortion steps, the fake-emergency call routine, and the device control paths, designed to be printed.
Five worksheets close the book: what your child uses, a controls checklist, school AI policies, device controls and app checks, and a family safe word checklist. Answers to every check-yourself question, a glossary, and the complete source list follow.
The IKE standard.
Read from each company's own pages
Age limits and parent controls come from the terms and help pages of OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, Apple, Character.AI, Meta, Snap, and Roblox. Federal rules come from the FTC, the FBI, the Department of Justice, NCMEC, and the Department of Education. Every chapter ends with its sources.
Dated, because the rules move
Every source was read in October 2026, and the guide tells you to treat each setting as accurate for that month and to check the app before you rely on it.
Honest about limits
Where a company's pages did not state a minimum age, as for Meta AI and Snapchat's My AI, the guide says so instead of guessing. Warning signs, scripts, and safe word steps are labeled as the guide's suggestions, not agency guidance.
A plan, not just a warning
A one-page family agreement, a homework rule set, conversation scripts for four age groups, and the FBI's sextortion steps in order.
Built to use
3 figures, the critical facts and one action you can finish in under 30 minutes at the end of every chapter, five worksheets, and a quick reference designed to be printed.
Specs and terms.
- Format
- PDF, US Letter, live source links
- Length
- 47 pages, 13 chapters
- Inside
- 3 figures, 5 worksheets, a one-page family agreement, glossary, complete source list
- Sources verified
- October 2026
- Covers
- United States families with children ages 5 to 17. Tool rules and settings were read from each company's own pages in October 2026. State laws on companion and therapy chatbots are covered in Chapter 12.
- Price
- $19 USD, one-time purchase
- Delivery
- Instant PDF download on a private page right after checkout, plus a copy by email
What this is. An educational reference. It is not legal, tax, financial, credit, or investment advice, and it does not create a professional relationship. Rules change; each figure in this edition carries the date it was verified against its official source. For advice on your situation, consult a licensed professional.
Educational only; not legal, medical, or mental health advice. If a child is in danger, call 911. If a child is thinking about suicide or self-harm, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Your license. One purchase covers one person, for your own learning or your own business. You may print a copy for yourself. Please do not share, resell, upload, or use this file to train AI models. Terms.
Refunds. Sales are final once your file is delivered, with fair exceptions: if the file is defective, was not delivered, is materially different from this description, or was bought twice by mistake, email [email protected] within 14 days and we will fix it or refund you. Refund policy.
AI at Home: The Parent's Guide
47 pages · 13 chapters · 3 figures · 5 worksheets. $19, instant download.