For parents, grandparents, and youth leaders

Kids, teens, and AI chatbots: a guide for Christian parents.

Children and teenagers should not use AI companion or character chatbots, and no child should treat a chatbot as a friend, a counselor, or Jesus. AI can help with homework and Bible study when a parent knows how it is used, the tool shows its sources, and hard questions still come to people. Make a family plan together, turn on the parental controls that exist, and keep faith conversations at home and at church.

Written by Andrew Kittridge, founder of LuminUpdated September 30, 2026How we cite Scripture

Read the direct answer Ask your version

Faith is handed down at a table, not downloaded.

The direct answer

What AI can do for a child. Explain a hard homework idea another way, quiz memory verses, suggest questions for family devotions, or help an older teen outline a paper they will write themselves.

What it must not become. A friend who is always available, a secret confidant, a romantic partner, a counselor in a crisis, or a voice that speaks as Jesus, a parent, or a pastor.

Ask about your own situation

Watch · Faith & AI 22

The answer in under a minute.

The question, the short answer, and the Scripture to test it against. Every verse on screen is quoted from the Lumin Translation as it read when the film was made (edition 1.0); the linked passages show the current text.

Read what’s on screen

The question Should my kids use AI chatbots? 72% of U.S. teens have used an AI companion (Common Sense Media, 2025).
The short answer No companion or character bots. Some AI can help, with a family plan.
Our family AI plan Which tools: no companion or character apps. Where: shared rooms, not behind a closed door at night. Never tell an AI: our name, address, school, photos, or secrets. Check: every Bible verse and every fact that matters. Talk to a parent: if it says something confusing, scary, or about God.
Taught at home “Impress them on your children, and speak of them as you sit in your house…” Deuteronomy 6:7
Companions shape character “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20
The takeaway Children keep rules they helped make. Write the plan together at the kitchen table.

All 43 Faith & AI films

What is already happening

Teenagers are already talking to AI. Regulators are catching up.

In a nationally representative Common Sense Media survey of 1,060 U.S. teens (April–May 2025), 72% had used an AI companion at least once and 52% used one regularly. About a third had chosen an AI companion over a person for a serious conversation, and about a quarter had shared personal information with one.

In September 2025 the Federal Trade Commission ordered seven companies, including Character.AI, Meta, OpenAI, Snap, Alphabet, and xAI, to report how their companion chatbots affect children and teens. Character.AI ended open-ended chat for users under 18 in November 2025. California’s SB 243, in force since January 2026, requires companion chatbots to disclose that they are AI, remind minors to take breaks at least every three hours, and follow crisis protocols.

OpenAI added parental controls to ChatGPT in 2025 and a ChatGPT for Teens experience in August 2026. Parents can link accounts, set quiet hours, and receive alerts in some high-risk situations. They cannot read their teen’s conversations. Rules help. They do not replace a parent who asks, “What did you talk to it about?”

Church leaders are saying the same thing. At a September 2026 conference in Washington, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone warned against exposing children to AI in their formative years, when they are learning to form real relationships and moral judgment.

What Scripture gives parents

Six principles for a Christian home.

The Bible does not mention chatbots. It says a great deal about who forms children, what company shapes them, and where wisdom comes from.

Deuteronomy 6:6–7
Faith is taught at home, in person.
Parents are told to talk about God’s words at home, on the road, at bedtime, and in the morning. A chatbot can answer a question. It cannot walk beside a child.
Proverbs 13:20 · 1 Corinthians 15:33
Companions shape character.
Children become like the company they keep. A companion bot designed to agree and keep them talking is company, and it forms them.
Luke 2:52
Children grow with God and with people.
Jesus grew in wisdom and in favor with God and man. Growth happens in relationships with real people who can disagree, forgive, and stay.
James 1:5
Wisdom is asked of God.
Teach children to bring hard questions to God in prayer and to trusted people, not only to a search box.
Ephesians 6:4
Parents lead, patiently.
Rules without explanation provoke. Explain why, set limits together, and keep the conversation open.
Exodus 20:3–4
No voice takes God’s place.
An app that speaks as Jesus asks a child to hear a machine as God. Say no to that plainly and explain why.

Common situations

What to do when it comes up.

Age and maturity matter. These judgments assume a parent is involved and the child knows the family rules.

Homework help from ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude

Allow with rules

Use it in shared spaces, follow the school’s rules, and use it to explain, not to write the assignment. Turn on the parental controls the tool offers.

An AI companion or character app

Do not allow

These are designed to feel like a relationship. Several have restricted minors after concerns about harm to children. There is no safe version for a child.

An app that lets you “text Jesus”

Talk, then say no

A model speaking as Jesus is not Jesus speaking. Use the moment to talk about prayer, and about how God actually speaks through Scripture and the church.

A Bible app with an AI helper

Use together

Choose one that shows the verse it relies on. Sit with a younger child. Teach an older one to open every reference and check it.

Your child confided something painful to a chatbot

Step in now

Thank them for telling you, listen, and connect them with people who can help. If there is any talk of self-harm, call or text 988 in the U.S. now.

Youth group materials drafted with AI

Leader checks

A leader reads every word, checks every verse, and never uploads students’ names or photos. The church AI policy template covers this.

A family AI plan

Five things to agree on at the kitchen table.

Write these down together. Children keep rules they helped make, and the plan gives you something to return to when a new app appears.

Which AI tools we use, and which we do not (no companion or character apps).
Where we use them: in shared rooms, not behind a closed door at night.
What we never tell an AI: our full name, address, school, photos, or secrets.
What we check: every Bible verse and every fact that matters, before we believe it.
Who we talk to: if an AI says something confusing, scary, or about God, we bring it to a parent.

What people are doing elsewhere:

Controls and research help you see the risks. The plan is what turns them into a habit your family keeps.

Print it · Fill it in together

A family AI plan to print and fill in.

Seven questions to answer together, with room to write. The starting answers come from this guide. Change any of them, sign it together, and put it where everyone can see it.

Download as text

Prints on one page, without the rest of this guide.

Our family AI plan

Thefamily· Agreed on

These words I command you today must stay on your heart. Repeat them to your children again and again, and talk about them when you are sitting at home and when you are out on the road, when you lie down and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:6–7 · Lumin Translation

Which AI tools we use, and where
- In shared rooms, not behind a closed door.
- To explain, not to write the assignment. School rules come first.
- We check every Bible verse and every fact that matters.
AI tools we use: write them in
Tool What we use it for Where
Where devices sleep at night
- Somewhere shared, not behind a closed door at night.
- If a tool offers quiet hours, we turn them on.
Our devices sleep in
Screens off at
What we never tell a chatbot
- Our full name, address, school, photos, or secrets.
- Passwords, and anything private about someone else.Lumin’s suggestion
Also
Our rule on AI companion or “friend” bots
- We don’t use companion or character apps. They are designed to feel like a relationship.
- A chatbot is not a friend, a secret confidant, or a romantic partner.
If a friend shows us one, we
If a bot says something scary, asks for secrets, or speaks as God or Jesus
- Stop and bring it to a parent.
- A bot that asks for secrets gets none.
- A bot speaking as Jesus is not Jesus speaking. We open the Bible together.
- Parents: thank them for telling you, and listen.
- Any talk of self-harm: call or text 988 in the U.S. now.
Who we tell
- A parent first, or another trusted person.
A parent
Another adult we trust
At church
Our weekly check-in question
- “What did you talk to it about?”
Our question
We ask it on

What changes by age.

One plan for the whole table. What changes with age is how much a child does alone, and what you ask each week.

Under 8

No chatbot account of their own. OpenAI’s terms require users to be at least 13.
A Bible app with an AI helper is something you use together. Sit with them.
Tablets and phones sleep outside their bedroom.Lumin’s suggestion
Keep the plan to three things they can say back: ask a parent first, never tell a screen where we live, and tell us when something is scary.Lumin’s suggestion
Ask each week: “Did anything on a screen make you scared or confused?”Lumin’s suggestion

8–12

Still under OpenAI’s minimum age of 13. Use AI together, in a shared room.
AI can explain a hard homework idea another way or quiz memory verses. It does not write the assignment.
Teach them to open every verse an AI quotes and check it. The Bible verse checker helps.
Name companion and character apps before a friend shows them one, and explain why your family says no.Lumin’s suggestion
Ask each week: “What did you ask an AI, and did it get anything wrong?”Lumin’s suggestion

13–17

OpenAI’s terms allow 13 and up, with parental permission under 18. Age is a floor, not a readiness test.
If they use ChatGPT, link accounts and set quiet hours. You cannot read their conversations, so keep talking.
Still no companion or character apps. Character.AI ended open-ended chat for users under 18.
AI can help outline a paper they will write themselves. Handing in its work as theirs is not honest.
If a bot has become a comfort or a romance, stay calm, ask questions, and listen before you remove it.
Ask each week: “What did you talk to it about?”

Lines marked Lumin’s suggestion are our own advice. Every other line comes from this guide and the sources it cites.

Common questions

Plain answers, without invented certainty.

Should Christian kids use AI chatbots?

Not companion or character chatbots. General assistants can help with homework under family rules, and Bible apps can help with study when they show their sources. The goal is a child who knows AI is a tool, checks what it says, and brings hard questions to people.

At what age can a child use ChatGPT?

OpenAI’s terms require users to be at least 13, with parental permission under 18. Age is a floor, not a readiness test. Many families wait longer, and use it together at first.

Is it harmful for kids to ask AI about God?

Asking is not the problem. Believing an answer without checking it, or treating the chatbot as a spiritual authority, is. Use their question as a chance to open the Bible together.

What should I do if my teen has an AI girlfriend or boyfriend?

Stay calm, ask questions, and listen for what the app is giving them: attention, comfort, or escape. Then remove the app and help them find those things in real relationships. Read “Is a romantic relationship with AI a sin?” together if they are old enough.

Can parents read their teen’s ChatGPT conversations?

Not through OpenAI’s parental controls. Parents can link accounts, set quiet hours, and get safety alerts in limited high-risk situations, but conversations stay private to the teen. That makes the conversation at home more important.

Your version of the question

Still wondering about your situation? Ask it.

Lumin answers in a few sentences and names the passages it rests on. Each verse it cites is checked and shown in full below the answer, so you can read it yourself.

Keep reading

Sources and further reading

Open the evidence behind the answer.

These sources provide the technical, research, and Christian context used in this guide. The biblical references above should also be read in their full literary and church context.

Research
Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs: How and Why Teens Use AI Companions
Nationally representative survey of 1,060 U.S. teens, April–May 2025.
Common Sense Media
Regulation
FTC launches inquiry into AI chatbots acting as companions
September 2025 orders to seven companies about effects on children and teens.
Federal Trade Commission
Law
SB 243: Companion chatbots
Signed October 2025, effective January 2026: disclosure, break reminders for minors, crisis protocols.
California Legislature
Company policy
Taking bold steps to keep teen users safe
Announcement ending open-ended chat for users under 18.
Character.AI
Company policy
ChatGPT for Teens
Teen experience and parental controls: linked accounts, quiet hours, safety notifications.
OpenAI
News
At AI conference, religious leaders confront what technology could cost humanity
September 2026 remarks by church leaders, including on children and AI.
Religion News Service