Child Human-Authorship Principles
Use with Raise Children Who Remain Authors of Their Own Lives.
Six domains to discuss and test
These are conversation prompts, not a validated developmental assessment. Apply them to the specific child, task, school policy, accessibility need, and service risk.
| Domain | Lower-delegation example | Signal to pause and discuss |
|---|---|---|
| Creating | AI helps organize or polish work the child produced first | AI generates the substance; child submits it as their own |
| Deciding | AI presents options; the child weighs and chooses | The child asks AI what to do and just does that |
| Relating | AI helps draft or rehearse a message the child sends as themselves | AI companionship substitutes for effort in real friendships |
| Learning | The child attempts first, checks or gets feedback second | AI produces the answer; the attempt is skipped |
| Repairing mistakes | The child owns and communicates their own apology | AI drafts an apology the child never has to feel or mean |
| Serving others | The child does the actual task of helping | AI produces the appearance of contribution the child didn’t make |
Family rollout checklist
- Had an open, non-judgmental conversation with my child about what they currently use AI for.
- Chosen priorities from the child’s actual use, risks, strengths, accessibility needs, and school context.
- Wrote the family rule down briefly, not just agreed verbally.
- Set a review trigger or cadence that fits how quickly the child’s use and services change.
- Checked what AI-use policy my child’s school actually has.
- Adjusted the framework for any accessibility or multilingual need rather than applying a blanket restriction.
Service and context checks
- Check each service’s current age rules, safeguarding assessment, privacy terms, school policy, and accessibility implications. A demonstrably unsafe, age-inappropriate, unlawful, or school-prohibited service may need to be blocked immediately.
- Treat “attempt first” as one possible learning design, not a universal rule; educators and relevant accessibility professionals should adapt it to the learner and task.
- Recheck whenever the school, service, device access, child’s needs, or use case changes.
Review questions
- What is my child using AI for now that they were not using it for at the previous review?
- In which of the six domains have I noticed AI doing more of the work than my child?
- Does our family rule still match what my child actually encounters at school and on their devices?
What this cannot do
No framework can forecast what skills your child’s future will require. This tool is meant to preserve choice, effort, voice, and responsibility as durable capacities — not to predict which specific tools or skills will matter in twenty years.