Lynn’s Warriors joins ‘The Other Side of Midnight with LIONEL’ to discuss what is really happening when your kids go to school in 2025.

Listen Here.

Parents are losing trust in artificial intelligence (AI) in schools even as more districts look to adopt the technology.

A recent PDK poll found parents are not comfortable with AI software getting personal information about their children such as grades, and that Americans overall frown upon AI usage for creating lesson plans.

The distrust is a drop from previous years that schools will have to confront both as the Trump administration and the industry look to push AI in schools.

“I think that parents are in a lot of different places with understanding what AI is, how it’s impacting schools or not and how it’s starting to show up uniquely for their own children. And we’re in a really different place this fall than even last fall,” said Bree Dusseault, principal and managing director at the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

“I do think that this next school year is going to be a year of reckoning with AI,” Dusseault added.

Read more here.

.

Learn More Here. 

Talk about online enticement calmly and conversationally. Ask questions, listen without judgment and remind kids they can always come to you. Keep it fact-based and empowering, not scary.

Sound the alarm. Online enticement reports have risen nearly 300%.

Watch Our Warriors Video Here.

Understanding Tech Neck

Tech neck is a condition that arises from constant neck bending while using electronic devices. As children spend more time engrossed in their screens, they unknowingly subject their necks to excessive stress. The human head weighs about 10 to 12 pounds, but when tilted forward at a 60-degree angle (common while using smartphones), the compelling force on the neck can increase to a whopping 60 pounds. This added pressure can lead to a range of issues, including neck and shoulder pain, headaches, and even long-term spinal problems.

Health Implications

• Muscle Strain: Constantly tilting the head forward strains the muscles in the neck and shoulders, causing discomfort and stiffness.
• Spinal Misalignment: Prolonged periods of poor posture can contribute to spinal misalignment, affecting the spine’s natural curvature.
• Headaches and Migraines: The added stress on the neck can trigger headaches and migraines, impacting a child’s overall well-being and concentration.
• Texting Claw: Excessive smartphone use can lead to hand and wrist issues, commonly called “texting claw” or “gamer’s thumb.”

Prevention Strategies

• Encourage Proper Posture: Educate children about maintaining good posture using electronic devices. Remind them to hold devices at eye level to reduce strain on the neck.
• Take Breaks: Implement a rule of regular breaks during screen time. Encourage kids to stretch, walk around, and change positions every 20-30 minutes to alleviate stress on the neck and spine.
• Ergonomic Setups: Ensure that workstations and study areas are ergonomically designed. Provide chairs and desks that support a neutral spine position.
• Neck-Strengthening Exercises: Incorporate neck-strengthening exercises into their routine to build resilience against the strains of prolonged device use.
• Limit Screen Time: Set reasonable limits on screen time for recreational activities. Encourage a healthy balance between screen-related and outdoor activities.
• Regular Eye Checkups: Regular eye checkups can help detect and address vision issues early, reducing the need for children to strain their necks while using devices.

Prevention Strategies

• Encourage Proper Posture: Educate children about maintaining good posture using electronic devices. Remind them to hold devices at eye level to reduce strain on the neck.
• Take Breaks: Implement a rule of regular breaks during screen time. Encourage kids to stretch, walk around, and change positions every 20-30 minutes to alleviate stress on the neck and spine.
• Ergonomic Setups: Ensure that workstations and study areas are ergonomically designed. Provide chairs and desks that support a neutral spine position.
• Neck-Strengthening Exercises: Incorporate neck-strengthening exercises into their routine to build resilience against the strains of prolonged device use.
• Limit Screen Time: Set reasonable limits on screen time for recreational activities. Encourage a healthy balance between screen-related and outdoor activities.
• Regular Eye Checkups: Regular eye checkups can help detect and address vision issues early, reducing the need for children to strain their necks while using devices.

Building Healthy Habits

As parents and caregivers, it’s crucial to instill healthy habits early on. By fostering awareness of the dangers of tech neck and implementing preventive measures, we can safeguard our children in the digital era.

Though talking toys are nothing new, a fresh crop of AI-enabled playthings have entered the scene, making the “Chatty Cathy” and “Teddy Ruxpin” dolls of yesteryear, which were merely reciting pre-programmed phrases, look positively paleontological.

More than a decade after “My Friend Cayla” — a Bluetooth-enabled and Wi-Fi-connected doll that became “verboten in Deutschland” in 2017 for being a potential espionage device — Mattel and OpenAI’s newly-announced partnership to “reimagine the future of play,” as the iconic toymaker’s chief franchise officer Josh Silverman told Bloomberg in July, is being unleashed upon a generation of kids and parents alike.

Though no specific plans for an AI collaboration have been revealed yet from the duo, the prospect of an AI Barbie seems entirely within the realm of possibility — and Marc Fernandez, the chief strategist of the “human-centric” AI company Neurologyca, cited that potentiality as particularly dangerous for childhood development in a new essay for the engineering magazine IEEE Spectrum.

“Children naturally anthropomorphize their toys — it’s part of how they learn,” Fernandez wrote. “But when those toys begin talking back with fluency, memory, and seemingly genuine connection, the boundary between imagination and reality blurs in new and profound ways.”

Read more here.