Chuck E. Cheese is not a typical venue for discussing the use of AI, but surprisingly, the subject emerged organically, talking with the mother in her son’s kindergarten class.
We were both present at the birthday party. My parents shared how they spent their spring break. This particular mom explained her 10-day road trip, explained driving to multiple national parks, staying on short-term rentals, going on a child-friendly hike, and giving beautiful and detailed answers.
Surprised at how much work there was to plan such a holiday, I was a little scared, and asked how she did it. Her response? chatgpt.
She spoke about how easy it would be to create an itinerary that describes her family, including two small children and active grandparents. I was impressed with the practical application of generative AI to reduce the mental load of planning family vacations and soon began to think about how other AI-driven programs could help me and my never-ending to-do list.
Without social support for US mothers in the form of affordable childcare, paid family leave and equal pay for mothers, many families have turned to technology, and I have doubts about me and many other overwhelming women.
“Many parents have turned their eyes to generic AI applications like ChatGpt to help with Mental Load.”
Not robotany, but AI Family Assistant
Since CHATGPT was introduced in late 2023, experts from Big Tech, academic institutions, as well as YouTubers and Tiktokers have spoken out on ways to make AI more organized and productive, primarily for those who work in the corporate world. Many suggestions include using AI to better manage your time and organizing your calendar.
In fact, some startups are specifically sold to parents as “family assistants” designed to help with family management, including sports practices, PTA meetings, birthday parties, and play dates. “The overall mental load of family management is much broader than mere care. It’s about fluid delegations and constant communication,” says Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder of Care.com.
I’m not yet using many other apps designed for Ohai or family organizations, but I’m already using AI-powered technology to help my mommy do the day to day missions. This includes voice assistants like siri. On a particular day it would look like this: Set a timer on the command (to warn preschoolers when they move to new activities), request a song (to keep kids quiet while driving), or add reminders to the calendar (to remember signing up for swimming lessons).
Like my son’s classmate mother, many parents relied on generative AI applications like ChatGpt to help with mental loads. I have found examples of my parents, mostly moms, in blog posts and online forums.
Given the preferences of children that help create weekly meal plans for families, it suggests games and activities to keep their children busy (ironically, this is usually framed as a way to limit the child’s screen time).
“We need to identify how we integrate AI into family life.”
Parental advice: Use AI responsibly
In August 2024, the US Surgeon General issued recommendations on the health and mental well-being of parents across the country. The recommendation explains that parents are currently spending more time than they have in 1985, but they spend even more time each week on primary childcare.
Given the incredible stress of parenting in 2025, it’s no wonder parents are seeking help from AI products. But as moms and dads, we need to identify how we integrate AI into family life. There are many AI products available, but the lack of regulations on these products means that all companies have their own standards set for safety and responsibility.
Data privacy should be a priority consideration when involved in AI products, particularly when dealing with sensitive personal data about children. For AI Family Assistant to be effective, the app needs to access facets of your life. Before you share anything, make sure you understand whether or not that data will remain safe. How does the company store data? Does it share your data with third parties? Will your data be used by the company to further train the model?
Before using AI to benefit families, we need to better understand how AI works and what it can do. ChatGPT summarises blog posts about visits to Yosemite National Park and can generate a 3-day itinerary, making it easy to forget that the app is predicting the responses it needs based on the vast amount of data in the model. However, we need to remember that it is designed to predict and generate text-based responses to prompts. It doesn’t essentially mean that you “know” the answer.
Set an example
As technology evolves, overwhelmed parents want an all-in-one solution like Jetson’s robots. Until then, you can use available AI apps to help ease the mental load of motherhood. And, like all parenting advice, if parenting experts, podcasts, or technology apps appear to have all the answers, maintain healthy skepticism.
