We agreed an AI rule and it lasted three days

What is going on

It is a familiar story: the new rule held for a few days and then quietly stopped. Usually it broke for one of three reasons. It was too big ("no AI on school nights"). It was too vague ("use it properly"). Or nothing ever checked it, so on the first tired evening it slipped, and nobody mentioned it.

None of that means your child cannot keep a rule. It means the rule needs to be easier to keep than to break.

What to do this week

1. Hold a five-minute review, with no blame

   "The rule did not stick. What made it hard?" Write down what they say. Deadlines, a subject they find difficult and "I forgot" are all useful answers.

2. Shrink it to one sentence

   "For homework, I write my own attempt before I ask an AI." Nothing else. One subject only, if that is what it takes to start.

3. Add a way out

   Agree the exception in advance: on a night with too much to do, they can skip the attempt and tell you the next day. A rule with a way out lasts longer than one without.

4. Fix the check

   Same day, same time, every week: they show you two attempts. Put it in the calendar. The check is what turns a wish into a rule.

What not to do

• Do not answer a broken rule with a bigger one. A ban after a lapse teaches hiding.
• Do not start checking in secret. If you want to see something, ask to see it.
• Do not skip your own side. If you agreed to a weekly check, do it. Children notice when adults drop it first.

The honest limit

The second rule may slip too. Expect to restart more than once. Settings can carry some of the weight: a saved instruction makes the AI ask for an attempt first, though a teenager can remove it. The paid Family plan of our browser extension adds a parent PIN so the rules stay as set, homework hours on every AI site and a week view your child can also see. An extension can be removed, so it works beside an agreed rule, not instead of one.

Questions