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Hey there, {{first_name | friend}},
We are ready for school in the AI-Empowered household. We’ve got new water bottles (Stanley and Owala, obviously), new clothes (butterfly shorts and crop tops, heaven help us), and about 100 keychains dangling from backpacks that already weigh more than the girls do. We changed their earrings for the first time in months. And we also know our school district's AI policy and guidelines (which is the one thing that might matter most).
I share all this because Rachel, one of our OG community members and a mom of a second grader, asked for a back-to-school AI checklist. She’s always full of great ideas so I am delivering on her ask this week. Before you send your kids back to school, here are 3 things to do to keep them safer with AI.
Before They Head Back: Do These 3 Things
1. Check your school's AI policy for this year.
Start with a plain Google search for "[your school or district name] AI policy." Google beats AI here because you need something that already exists, not something generated on the spot. Can't find one? Request it from your school or district. If your school or district doesn’t have one yet, check out the National PTA Position Statement on Artificial Intelligence as a solid starting point.
2. Talk to your kids about AI.
Whether this is your first conversation about AI with your kids or your fiftieth, back to school season presents a perfect opportunity to talk about what AI is and where it fits in your family. Common Sense Media has a simple list broken out by age and stage to use as a starting point.
Keep it casual and screen-free. A short car ride presents a perfect opportunity for a chat like this, regardless of what Sam Altman might tweet about AI-generated podcasts for commutes.
Think your kids are too young? If they have awareness of voice assistants like Alexa or Siri or know what Google is, they are ready to talk about AI. The content of the conversation matters less than the fact that you're having it at all.
3. Set some AI boundaries for your family.
Where does AI fit in your family? You get to decide. Here's a peek at my family AI agreement, a sneak preview of what's coming in my book. This works for our family but it might not be the right fit for yours. Think about where tech aligns or conflicts with your values and try drafting a boundary for your family this school year.
Need a little support with the checklist? Try these prompts.
Prompt 1: Request your school’s AI policy
Act as a calm parent advocate. Draft a short, friendly email to my child's school requesting a copy of their AI policy for students and staff, or asking them to create one if it doesn't exist yet. Format the output as a two-paragraph email I can send as-is, with a polite but clear request for a response.
Prompt 2: Get Age-Appropriate Conversation Starters
Act as a child development communications expert. Give me 5 age-appropriate conversation starters about AI for my [child's age]-year-old. Format the output as a short bulleted list I can use tomorrow in the car.
Prompt 3: Pressure-Test Your Family's AI Boundaries
Act as a tech-savvy parenting coach who provides research-based family tech guidance. Here are the AI boundaries I'm considering for my family: [list your boundaries]. Give me data-driven feedback on what's missing, what's unrealistic, and what might cause pushback. Format the output as a short list of suggested edits.
Back to school offers a fresh start for you, too
Want to get a reset for the new school year for yourself, too? I’m co-hosting “Your Best Self, Empowered By AI” with executive coach and founder of 3Be Coaching Carla Greenan next week. Carla was my coach after I had 3 kids in 18 months and she gave me mindset tips, routines, and systems that I still use today. She’ll walk all participants through a guided exercise to assess how your energy is flowing today vs. where you would like it to be. Then we’ll jointly share tips on how to get there with a little AI to streamline things for you.
Hope you join us on August 25! If you have questions about the format or results, just hit reply and I’ll get right back to you.
What else are you doing to get your family ready for back to school? I’d love to hear from you. And if you have a newsletter topic request like Rachel did for this edition, hit reply and let me know!
Until next time,
Sarah
P.S. I wrote the outline for this edition then Claude wrote the first draft, then I scrapped it and re-wrote it myself. That’s how it goes sometimes!
I’m Sarah, mom of 3 girls, MBA, and AI strategist. I created AI-Empowered MomTM to share practical, responsible ways AI can help lighten the mental load of parenthood. I’m so glad you’re here.
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