Summer is here and parents are facing a challenge—how to keep kids busy. And not just busy, but also mentally stimulated to ward off choruses of “I’m so bored.” That’s where an app like PinwheelGPT can be really handy to understand.

PinwheelGPT is a chat-based AI app that’s designed specifically for kids between the ages of 7 and 12. It’s tailored to provide safe, age-appropriate conversations and has built-in filters that block mature content.

Even better, it has parental controls that all you to see everything your child types in as well as the responses that come back. Yes, even deleted chats.

Your Kid Is Already Using AI

You may not know it, but your child is probably already using AI. According to Analytics Insight, about 10 percent of 5- to 8-year-old children are using it, and that number rises to more than half of all teenagers. A 2024 survey by Pew Research found that the number of kids using ChatGPT for homework assistance doubled from 2023, rising to approximately 26 percent, and Common Sense Media found that about 70 percent of teenagers have used generative AI tools to create music, images, and text.

So, if your kids already use AI in some form, tapping into a service like PinwheelGPT could be a good way to help them learn to use it better.

Set Guardrails and Explore Together

The best way to introduce AI during the summer months is through guided, creative exploration. Instead of handing over a phone or tablet and hoping for the best, treat AI like a collaborative learning tool.

One thing you can do is ask your child what they’re curious about, and let them use PinwheelGPT to explore it. Then talk through what they find. Were the answers helpful? Confusing? Surprising?

Also, take some time before the fun begins to agree on a few basic guardrails, like not sharing personal information and double-checking facts with trusted sources.

Use AI to Start Something Screen-Free

Once the preliminaries are out of the way, that’s when you can use PinwheelGPT to kick off screen-free fun:

• Ask the AI for a silly story idea, then have your child write or illustrate it.
• Dig into a science subject that interests your child and then try a safe experiment together.
• Ask Pinwheel to tell you about local bugs or birds, and head outside for a scavenger hunt. You can also use this suggestion if you’re traveling to learn more about the area you’ll be spending time in.
• Let your child choose a topic and then ask the chatbot to suggest rainy-day games or quiet-time prompts.

With the right limits and a little creativity, AI can become a tool for connection, not distraction. It’s a great way to keep kids curious, creative, and thinking critically all summer long.