Parenting: Science and Practice

Parenting and AI

 Artificial intelligence (AI) is embedded in the everyday environments where caregiving takes place. From voice assistants and smart toys to AI-driven educational tools and parenting apps, AI increasingly mediates parenting, parent-child interactions, and the home environment, which subsequently shape children’s socialisation as well as their development. Yet, research on the developmental and relational implications of AI remains fragmented across disciplines; parallel bodies of work in fields such as human-computer interaction and parenting are developing in relative isolation. Given the well-established impact of parenting on developmental outcomes, close attention to the evidence on the nature and impact of these technologies on parenting is especially warranted.

At present, the evidence base remains skewed towards findings from high-income Western settings and from families with early access to new technology. As caregiving norms, cultural expectations of childhood, infrastructural conditions, and technology access differ substantially across contexts, findings from these populations cannot be assumed to generalize. This special issue brings together interdisciplinary perspectives examining the intersection of parenting and AI. It aims to advance rigorous empirical understanding while ensuring experiences and perspectives of contemporary families worldwide are reflected in the literature. Covering high-quality research, this Special Issue is expected to have wide-ranging implications for researchers, for practitioners working with families, and for policymakers developing regulation and equity provisions by advancing what we know about the intersection of new forms of technology and lives of families worldwide.

 The issue welcomes empirical studies, reviews, and theoretical contributions addressing – but not limited to – the following themes:

1. Parenting and AI use in the home environment: Studies examining the use of AI and their associations with parenting dimensions, parent-child interaction and family dynamics.
2. AI-enhanced parenting interventions: Studies assessing the feasibility, design, and integration of AI into parenting intervention and support programs.
3. Cultural and contextual perspectives: Research exploring how parents from diverse cultural and contextual backgrounds perceive, adopt, and respond to AI in family life.