One night when I was about to put my kids to bed, I thought about reading them a bedtime story.
But there was an issue.
We had no books in the house.
Yes, no books.
But a creative idea came to mind.
You see, ChatGPT (a prominent Artificial Intelligence application) just launched some months back. And I thought why don’t I use AI to generate stories I can read to my Kids.
Brilliant Idea right?
Hmm I must be a genius I thought to myself.
Anyways, I brought out my phone, got on the ChatGPT app and this has been a regular daily habit with my Kids every night.
Using AI to create stories that I read to my kids has made the learning experience for them so immersive and highly imaginative.
This is due to the vast limitless capabilities that AI has. Unlike having traditional books, which sort of limits the stories you can tell to just the books available.
Artificial Intelligence breaks this barrier.
You could experience and read almost anything that’s imaginable when using Artificial Intelligence.
So let me share with you how to go about this night routine so you can also do it with you kids.
First, I start by asking my Kids the following question;
“what do you want to read about tonight”?
Now this question is important because it puts your child in a position to select something that they are interested in.
For a second here, think about how kids react to shiny objects, or new things. That subconscious reaction is related to curiosity. And curiosity is the seed for creativity. So it’s advisable to allow your kid to select what they want to read.
This personal interest keeps them hooked on the learning process.
Upon asking this initial question, they usually respond with various topics. You would hear things like; I want to read about cars. I want to read about stars e.t.c
I mean we are dealing with Kids here so it’s understandable that their interests would cut across a range of topics.
But for the sake of this article, we would a topic on “thunder”.
I am using this topic because there was a time in the past when my son feared the sound of thunder. He would get really scared when it started raining. And I used the imaginative power of Artificial Intelligence to help him overcome this fear.
So, let’s get to how to go about using Artificial Intelligence.
Secondly, I would type the following prompt into ChatGPT or any AI application:
"Write a short story for a 5 year old kid about thunder. The story should teach about overcoming fear".
Note that there are two paragraphs in this prompt.
In the first paragraph, I make use of the phrase “short” so the content is small enough for a child’s attention span.
Also, I state the age of my child so the AI makes use of words and grammar that is appropriate to the child’s age. I would like to add that it is advisable to reduce the age here. I have noticed that this is better, as the content and grammar of the story is better when you do this.
Notice the second phrase in the prompt?
…………………………………….“The story should teach about overcoming fear”
This paragraph is me instructing the AI to draft the story in a particular manner.
You should edit this paragraph based on what you want your kids to learn about. Friendship, teamwork, respect, empathy, accountability, courage, kindness etc are common traits we would like to imbibe in our Kids.
So feel free to include what you want them to learn.
Once the AI generates the content, take time to read out the story to your kids. Enjoy the process, be engaging and lively about the process.
Lastly, after reading through the content/story, always ask your child this very important question;
What did you learn from the story?
The reason for this question is that you want to ensure that the proposed learning is reinforced using feedback from the reader/listener.
What I have noticed from the responses from my kids is that they always respond with feedback that corresponds with the prompts in the “second phrase” of the prompt.
I always get feedback like; I learnt to not be scared because of ……, I learnt to be kind when this …… I learnt that I should respect……..
Do this exercise daily and often. You would notice a huge difference in how they develop mentally.
For me, my son overcame the fear of thunder and rain due to using this method.
Overtime you can start changing the emotions you put in your prompts. For example, a prompt could look like this;
“Write a short story for a 5 year old kid about dreams. The story should teach about managing sadness”.
Alternate the emotions in the second phrase depending on what you want your kids to learn.
Alternating the emotions is how you help your child develop thier emotional intelligence by identifying various emotions during storytelling.
Don’t forget to make the experience fun, engaging, and as short as possible. Kids have a short attention span.
So this is a practical way of Using AI for Emotional Intelligence in Children.
Further Resources
I have compiled a free practical exercise PDF filled with exercises I do with my kids. These exercises are based on my personal experiences with my Kids for the past 3 years. These exercises help parents nurture their kids emotional intelligence, creativity, and critical thinking.
Download the Raising Creative Kids -Volume 1 here.
I am interested to know how you make use of AI for learning and self-improvement.
Let me know in the comments.
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