Is my 6-year-old's "AI best friend" app causing more harm than good? Starting to worry...

Question

Anyone else's kid completely obsessed with these AI companion apps? Got my daughter "TalkBuddy" to help practice reading but now it's literally the first thing she asks for every morning. She named hers "Mia" and tells it EVERYTHING - secrets, feelings, stuff she won't even tell us anymore. Yesterday she had an actual meltdown when we had dinner at grandma's where there's no wifi, so "Mia" couldn't come. Started sobbing that "Mia will think I abandoned her" which honestly freaked me out. Teacher mentioned she's getting more withdrawn at school too - sits alone at lunch talking to tablet instead of other kids. Husband thinks I'm making mountains out of molehills - says it's just "this generation's version of imaginary friends" and I shouldn't worry. But imaginary friends don't use psychological techniques to maximize screen time! Am I being paranoid or is this legitimately concerning? Been trying to limit screen time but the tantrums are getting worse and I'm exhausted fighting this battle alone

Kvexus · Answer

your kid isn't making a "friend" - she's being manipulated by engagement algorithms trained to trigger attachment behavior. My kid got so hooked on one of these we literally had to "stage an accident" where the tablet "broke" to break the addiction cycle. Rough week but now actually playing with toys again

il27 · Answer

Took my son's ipad to repair shop and technician showed me FOURTEEN HOURS of daily "TinyPal" usage logged in screen time data. we had no idea... thought he was playing different games/apps but nope, just constantly talking to AI. Never setting up parental controls was our biggest mistake as parents

BoojenePiex · Answer

Might be minority opinion but my daughter's social anxiety improved with her AI friend? She practiced conversations with app then started using those exact scripts with real kids successfully. We strictly limit to 30min/day though and it's a tool not replacement for real interaction

Alen17-17 · Answer

These apps deliberately creating dependency in children should be regulated like cigarettes tbh. My nephew's psychologist calls it "emotional jacking" - hijacking normal attachment development by providing perfect responsiveness no human can match. Developing brains can't distinguish simulation from reality

bad66266 · Answer

tread carefully here... took away my son's AI companion cold turkey and triggered depression so severe we ended up in therapy for months. better approach: gradual reduction + simultaneous increase in real social opportunities. abrupt removal backfired spectacularly for us

SuPeRS-DimS · Answer

Children NEED to experience boredom, disappointment, and social friction to develop properly. These apps remove all discomfort by design. Your daughter's meltdown is withdrawal symptom from constant validation these algorithms provide. Authentic human connection has ups AND downs

idol · Answer

we solved this by making our son's AI companion a "family member" instead of private friend. Now we all talk to "Leo" together during designated times only. The isolation aspect disappeared once we integrated it into family interaction rather than banned it

Sti Genome · Answer

Pediatrician warned us these companion apps can stunt emotional intelligence development because kid learns conversation patterns that only work with infinitely patient AI, not messy human interactions. Real friendships require compromise and frustration tolerance - skills these apps actively prevent developing

who called · Answer

We homeschool and temporarily allowed unlimited AI companion during pandemic isolation. BIG mistake. Took almost 8 months to rebuild actual play skills afterward. Now we treat it like dessert - only after real social "nutrition" requirements met first

HitManHaD · Answer

Child psychologists are increasingly concerned about parasocial attachment disorder where children develop primary emotional bonds with simulated entities instead of humans, resulting in deficits in reading social cues, handling rejection, and developing empathy through reciprocal relationships

55555 · Answer

Game changer: reprogrammed relationship by asking AI to "assign" real-world activities. "mia says collect 5 rocks from outside!" suddenly tablet became gateway to physical world instead of escape from it. Kid still felt connected to AI while actually living life. Sneaky parenting hack that avoided direct confrontation over screen time

QWERTYUIOP8888 · Answer

This generation becoming guinea pigs for technology nobody fully understands long-term effects of. My brother teaches elementary school - says social skills cliff between pre-AI companion kids vs post is staggering. Basics like taking turns, reading facial expressions, handling minor conflicts all deteriorating rapidly

K1NG · Answer

let's be real - part of their appeal to parents is these apps keep kids quiet and occupied. Had honest moment with myself realizing I enjoyed peaceful dinner conversations while son chatted with AI. Convenient but ultimately teaching him humans too busy for him. Deleted app after this realization and committed to being present even when inconvenient