It’s the quiet hour after bedtime. You’re folding the laundry with that same precise focus, one sock neatly tucked into another. We didn’t talk about it today, but I saw it—the way your hand hovered over our daughter’s shoulder when she asked ChatGPT about her homework. The hesitation wasn’t fear, but thoughtful consideration. That’s so you—always leaning in instead of stepping back, while the world rushes. You’ve taught me to pause too, in this new digital landscape that’s swept into our living room.
The Unseen Labors in Screen Time
We’ve all watched them—the bright eyes, the rapid typing fingers, the ‘I can do this’ declarations. But here’s what I’ve learned from observing you: behind every screen glow, there’s your quiet guidance.
Like when you asked, ‘What do you think that AI might miss?’ when our son was researching. That question—pure genius! It wasn’t just about the assignment. It was about creating space for the human side of the equation.
The same way you’ve always balanced the family’s needs with the calendar’s demands. You see, when schools teach AI as a tool, they’re not teaching how to navigate that moment where the answer is clean but the thinking behind it gets messy.
That’s where you’ve stepped in—the same steadiness that held our family when the first baby cries came home.
The Safety Dance Between Screen Time and Real Life
You’ve been setting aside device-free times—not just for the kids, but for all of us. The dinner table where the tablet stays in another room. And those walks to the park? You’ve turned them into teachable moments too—where we talk about why the birds don’t ask Siri for directions.
That’s your secret sauce: creating spaces where answers come from us, not algorithms, but by the family’s collective wisdom. We have alerts for the latest app, but you’ve taught the kids to listen to their own internal alarms—the ones that say, ‘This feels off. Maybe ask Mom.’
Because that’s the real AI safety net—the one built on trust. It’s like how we blend kimchi and poutine—taking the best of both worlds!
Fostering Digital Citizens—One Conversation at a Time
Remember when our daughter was puzzled about the AI’s ‘perfectly polite’ answers that didn’t quite feel human? What a moment that was! I saw your smile. You said, ‘Let’s figure out what feels missing.’
That’s the heart of it—the empathy, the responsibility to be aware. We’re not just teaching them to use AI for homework help; we’re guiding them to be part of a world where technology is soaked in the questions we’ve asked.
Your quiet strength grounds the conversation—the same way you’ve grounded me for years. ‘What’s the kind thing to do here?’ is now asked alongside the technical how-tos.
The Future We’re Building—Their Quiet Inheritance
When the articles say Generation Alpha is the first generation born into this AI world, I think of how you’ve shaped their adaptation. The tech isn’t the scary unknown—it’s your steady hand on the keyboard.
Our children’s creativity, their skepticism, their ability to think beyond the chatbot’s answer—they’re picking up from you. The way you’ve taught me to pause, too, when the full weight of the future presses down on the dinner table.
The future isn’t about robots, but about the resilience we’ve nurtured. And that’s where you stand—the heartbeat of our family’s digital journey.
Source: How AI could upskill and future-proof Kiwi secondary school students, NZ Herald, 2025-09-27