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Parents, It’s Up to Us: The Family AI Game Plan

• We missed the moment with the internet. We handed our kids the web with no guide, no boundaries.

• We missed the moment with mobile. We gave them smartphones before we gave them values.

• We missed the moment with social media. We let likes and follows shape self-worth.

Now AI is here. We cannot miss this one.

The Call Is Clear: Parents Must Lead the Way

In my last newsletter, I shared the sobering results from the Nation’s Report Card. Proficiency rates in science, math, and reading are sliding, and schools are struggling to keep up. If you missed it, you can read that issue here.

• That was the alarm bell. (Fear and doubt.)

• This is the call to action. (Belief and confidence.)

Over the past year, I have written about both sides of this moment. The fear and uncertainty: from cheating scandals to falling test scores. The hope and upside: from creativity unlocked to the promise of AI as a learning superpower. And yet far too many parents still have not acted.

This cannot remain optional. If we are serious about the competitiveness of the United States, every parent with a school-age child must have a baseline understanding of AI. Families cannot afford to wait for systems to catch up.

That is why this first National Back-to-School AI Game Plan event is so important. It is a non-partisan, solution-driven space where parents can gain clarity, create a plan, and step forward with confidence.

Where Systems Fall Short

Both sides of the aisle are beginning to recognize the urgency of AI education.

• In October 2023, President Biden signed the Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. It directed the Department of Education to create an AI Toolkit for educators, with resources for safe and responsible AI use in schools.
  

• In April 2025, President Trump signed Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth. This order called for AI literacy in K–12, educator training, and the Presidential AI Challenge, spearheaded by First Lady Melania Trump.

These are important steps. Yet the U.S. education system is deeply decentralized, with more than 13,000 school boards making independent decisions, often bound to outdated structures designed for the industrial age.

Schools are still judged primarily by standardized test scores. Teacher training in emerging technologies is scarce. Many districts fall back on restrictive AI policies, some even zero tolerance. Yet students are already using AI, and those who are not are often swept up as “bycatch” in detection systems.

The question is not if your child will use AI. It is how.

If COVID Taught Us Anything

It is that time does not wait. When schools closed, kids without family support fell behind overnight.

The same is happening with AI. If families do not step in, today’s kids will be at a significant disadvantage compared to future generations who will grow up with structured AI education in place.

And let’s be honest:

• Many parents never adopted social media when it launched. Kids figured it out alone.
  

• Now, many parents do not even understand chatbots, while teens and even the elderly are turning to them for companionship, often exacerbating mental health and isolation issues.

We cannot leave this generation to stumble through without guidance, or worse yet, be guided by AI rather than family and community.

What’s Different With AI

Knowledge is now universally accessible. That changes everything.

• Nearly 96% of U.S. adults use the internet.
  

• About 90% of households have broadband service.
  

• 95% have a device at home.

This means that parents, regardless of income, education, or location, can now use AI to help their children do better in school, as long as they have internet access.

Yes, inequities remain in quality and training. But the foundation is there. For the first time in history, families have the power to guide learning in ways that were once reserved for the privileged few.

Why Families Must Lead

AI can enrich learning, spark curiosity, and support kids with special needs. It can also mislead, distract, or displace essential skills if left unchecked.

You would never hand your child the keys to a car without lessons, practice, and clear expectations. Yet every day, parents are handing them something far more powerful without any plan.

Schools cannot do this alone. Governments can set guardrails, but they cannot parent for you. For profit companies will always prioritize growth over your child’s development.

That leaves us. Parents.

The Solution: A Family AI Game Plan™

On September 24, DISCOVERING AI is hosting the first-ever National Back-to-School AI Game Plan Night.

One night. One conversation. One plan.

Every family will walk away with a clear Family AI Game Plan™:

• Clarity on the tools your child is already exposed to.
  

• Confidence to set boundaries and expectations.
  

• A plan created together, grounded in your family’s values.
  

This is intentional parenting in the Age of AI.

My Call to You

I get it. As parents, we’re busy. The days are long, and the years are short. We will never get these formative years back.

I have built national movements, led Fortune 500 marketing teams, guided youth organizations, taught college students for over a decade, and written bestselling books on parenting and entrepreneurship. Yet the most important role I have is being Maddie’s mom and helping her and her generation thrive in the Age of AI.

If you do nothing, AI will shape your child’s learning and values without your input.
If you take one night, you can shape your family’s future with intention.

Register to DISCOVERING AI National Back-to-School Game Plan the now for free: bit.ly/DAI-BTS25

Parents, this may be the most important decision you make this year. Do not miss the moment.

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