By Dan Miller, Today’s Family

A generation ago, students carried encyclopedias to the kitchen table. Today, they carry a device in their pocket that can answer almost any question in seconds. Now, with the rise of artificial intelligence, that same device can do even more—it can explain concepts, solve math problems, summarize books, write essays, and generate ideas.

For parents, the arrival of AI raises an important question: Is this technology helping children learn, or is it making it easier to avoid learning altogether?

The answer, like most things in parenting, is somewhere in the middle.

Artificial intelligence is already becoming a common part of daily life. Students use it to brainstorm ideas, check grammar, explain difficult concepts, and help organize information. Used thoughtfully, AI can function much like a tutor—offering guidance, answering questions, and helping learners work through challenges.

The concern arises when AI moves from being a tool to becoming a substitute for thinking.

Imagine a student assigned to write a report on the American Revolution. With a few prompts, AI can generate a complete paper in less than a minute. The assignment may get completed, but has the student actually learned anything? Research on learning consistently shows that people retain information better when they actively engage with it rather than simply receiving the finished product. In other words, much of the learning happens during the process itself.

Anyone who has ever helped a child learn to ride a bicycle understands this principle. Training wheels can be useful. They build confidence and provide support while a child develops balance and coordination. But eventually the training wheels have to come off. The goal is not dependence—it is independence.

Educational researchers have long known that learning often requires effort. Psychologists refer to this as “desirable difficulty”—the idea that struggling through a problem can actually improve understanding and memory. Similarly, research on the “generation effect” shows that people remember information better when they create an answer themselves rather than simply reading one provided by someone else. While AI can provide quick solutions, parents and educators face a new challenge: ensuring children still experience the productive struggle that turns information into knowledge.

Used well, it can help children understand difficult concepts, generate ideas, and receive feedback on their work. Used poorly, it can become a shortcut that bypasses the very skills schools are trying to develop: critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication, and perseverance.

The issue isn't unique to AI. Parents have wrestled with similar questions before. Calculators changed how students approached math. Spell-check changed how we write. GPS changed how we navigate. Each technology offered convenience while raising concerns about what skills might be lost.

AI is simply the latest—and perhaps the most powerful—example.

That doesn't mean parents should panic or ban it altogether. In fact, today's children will almost certainly enter a workforce where AI is as common as email and smartphones are today. Learning how to use these tools responsibly may be just as important as learning when not to use them.

One helpful question for parents to ask is simple: Is my child using AI to learn, or using AI to avoid learning?

There is a big difference between asking AI to explain a math concept and asking it to complete a math assignment. Likewise, there’s a difference between using AI to brainstorm ideas for a report and having it write the report from start to finish.

Parents can encourage healthy habits by asking children to explain concepts in their own words, discuss how they arrived at an answer, and demonstrate understanding beyond what appears on the page. After all, the goal of education has never been simply producing correct answers. It has always been about developing minds capable of asking good questions.

Technology will continue to evolve. The tools available to today's children will be far more powerful than anything previous generations could have imagined. But some things remain unchanged.

Curiosity still matters. Creativity still matters. Character still matters.

And in a world where machines can provide answers almost instantly, the ability to think independently may become one of the most valuable skills of all.