A companion to A Parent's Guide to Artificial Intelligence

The Series

Twelve posts designed to take parents from reading about AI to actually using it.

  1. Part 1 - Before You Talk to Your Kids About AI, Try It Yourself —

    The best way to guide your children through the AI era is to try these tools yourself first. Here's how to get started in five minutes.

  2. Part 2 - What AI Actually Is (And Why That Matters for Parents) —

    AI works like a very sophisticated autocomplete — it predicts words, it doesn't think. Understanding this changes how you respond when your child brings home AI-assisted work.

  3. Part 3 - ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity: A Plain-Language Comparison for Parents —

    A plain-language guide to the five AI tools your children are most likely to encounter — what each one does, who made it, and which one to try first.

  4. Part 4 - Your Privacy Checklist: What Never to Share With AI —

    Before you spend much time with AI tools, there's one thing you need to understand: what you type doesn't always stay private. Here's what to know and what to check.

  5. Part 5 - How to Spot AI Mistakes Before Your Kids Don't —

    AI mistakes look identical to correct answers. This post gives you a simple routine for catching errors — one you can use yourself and teach to your children.

  6. Part 6 - Using AI as Your Personal Research Assistant —

    AI is genuinely useful for learning tasks: summarizing documents, explaining concepts, and generating questions. Here are three concrete things to try this week.

  7. Part 7 - School AI vs. Home AI: What Every VSB Parent Should Understand —

    The school version of Copilot and the home version share a name but operate under very different rules. Here's what VSB parents need to know.

  8. Part 8 - AI for Busy, Overwhelmed, or Differently-Abled Parents —

    AI's accessibility features aren't just for students. Here are four concrete ways AI can help parents with translation, summarization, planning, and drafting.

  9. Part 9 - Deepfakes Are Real: What Parents Need to See to Understand —

    Deepfakes — AI-generated fake images, video, and audio — are already being used to harm people. Here's what parents need to understand, and what to do if something goes wrong.

  10. Part 10 - Recognizing Bias in AI Answers: A Skill Every Parent Can Learn —

    AI produces the most common answer, not the most accurate one — and "most common" reflects whose voices dominated its training data. Here's how to recognize bias and teach your children to do the same.

  11. Part 11 - Writing Your Family AI Agreement: A Step-by-Step Guide —

    After ten posts building your own understanding of AI, you're ready to have the family conversation. Here's how to write an agreement your children will actually follow.

  12. Part 12 - Keeping Up When AI Changes Every Month: Five Resources Every Parent Should Bookmark —

    AI changes fast. This final post gives you five resources to bookmark so you can stay current without spending more time on it than you have.

  13. Try It Yourself: What Twelve Posts About AI Taught Me About Parenting in the Age of AI —

    Twelve posts. Twelve weeks of practical AI guidance for parents. Here's what the series covered, the challenges it raised, and the through-lines that connect it all.

AI Tools to Try

Free tools, no account required to start:

  • Microsoft Copilot — Works in your browser without signing in. The easiest starting point, and the most relevant for VSB families.
  • Google Gemini — Google's AI. Strong at research and working with documents. Free with a Google account.
  • ChatGPT — OpenAI's conversational AI. The most widely used in the world. Free tier is genuinely useful. Minimum age: 13.
  • Claude — Anthropic's AI. Strong at reasoning and extended writing tasks. Free tier available. Minimum age: 13.
  • Perplexity — AI-powered search that cites its sources. Useful for staying current on topics and verifying claims.

BC and Canadian Resources

Schools and education policy

Media literacy and privacy

  • MediaSmarts — Canada's centre for digital and media literacy. Well-sourced parent resources on AI, algorithms, and online safety. Updated regularly.
  • Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — Canada's federal privacy regulator. Guidance on your rights regarding AI tools and data protection.

If something goes wrong

These resources are worth bookmarking before you need them.

  • Take Back Your Images — Free service that creates a digital fingerprint of an intimate image so it can be detected and removed from participating platforms.
  • NeedHelpNow.ca — For young people in Canada dealing with intimate images circulating online. Step-by-step guidance on reporting and removal.
  • Cybertip.ca — Canadian Centre for Child Protection reporting line for online child sexual exploitation material, including AI-generated content.
  • Kids Help Phone — 1-800-668-6868 (call 24/7) or text CONNECT to 686868. Counsellors available around the clock.