Five things that changed in 2026
The DPDP children's deadline of 13 May 2027, the two-hour deepfake removal rule, teen modes in AI chatbots, Instagram's new defaults in India, and the harm numbers.
What your child is actually doing with AI
Four age bands — 6-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-17 — with the one control and the one sentence that matter at each.
The homework problem
Answer machine versus tutor, the five signs the mode is wrong, and the four steps that fix it.
AI companions and emotional dependence
What companion apps are, why they appeal, the four specific risks, and the response that works where a ban does not.
Deepfakes, morphed photos and sextortion
How it starts, what the platforms owe you under the two-hour rule, the first hour in order, and the six things never to do.
Grooming: games, DMs and the secret-friend rule
Where it happens, the methods, the warning signs, and the one rule a nine-year-old can remember.
Bullying, impersonation and doxxing
The five shapes, the section numbers that apply, the 48-hour plan after a pile-on, and what never to say.
Money: games, UPI and the free-diamonds trap
The five scams that hit Indian households, the structural fixes, and the first call to make if money has gone.
Privacy: what is collected, and the DPDP deadline
Declared, behavioural and inferred data, what changes on 13 May 2027, and five things you can do before the law does.
When AI is confidently wrong
Where it fails most, why children believe it, and the ninety-second habit that catches it.
Sleep, attention and mood
What the evidence supports, the five interventions in order of effect, and when it is more than screen time.
The 20-minute household audit
Four structural decisions — device sleeping place, install approval, the money rule and a network filter — before any app work.
Android: Google Family Link
Six steps, from the child account and its birth date to per-app limits, plus an honest note on where Family Link stops.
iPhone and iPad: Screen Time and Family Sharing
Child accounts, Downtime, App Limits, Communication Limits, Content and Privacy Restrictions, Ask to Buy, Safety Check.
YouTube: supervised accounts and Shorts limits
The three content levels, blocking channels, autoplay, watch history, and the Shorts limit that can be set to zero.
Instagram and Meta: what Teen Accounts already does
The eight protections already on for an Indian under-18 account, the supervision link, and the three things defaults cannot know.
WhatsApp and messaging
Five settings, the age question, and three habits — including the forwarded-message rule.
AI chatbots: the age limits and the controls
An eleven-service table — minimum age, under-18 experience and parental controls — plus what no service will let a parent do.
Search, homework apps and school devices
SafeSearch locking, activity auto-delete, doubt-solver apps, and three questions for the school.
The one-page agreement you can print
Ten clauses, a signature line, and the one clause that decides whether you find out in the first hour or the third month.
Age-wise rule cards
Four cards, one per age band, designed to be photographed and kept on a phone.
Ten scripts for the conversations that matter
The opening line, the objections, the disclosure, the sextortion conversation and the one about their future.
The homework protocol
Three rules, the copy-paste tutor prompt, and a table of what is allowed by task.
Twelve questions that build judgment
Six to ask the AI, six to ask yourself — the practice that replaces a lecture.
The first hour
Four universal steps and seven scenario cards, from a morphed image to a disclosure of self-harm.
The reporting ladder
Eight channels, what each is for, and how to write a complaint that gets acted on.
The law in plain English
POCSO, the IT Act and IT Rules, the BNS and the DPDP Act — with the sections, the penalties and what the law does not do.
Working with the school
Three emails that do the work, and what to ask for specifically.
The 30-day rollout plan
Twenty minutes a day for thirty days, in the order that works, ending with a written note of what you deliberately left out.
Printable checklists and the quarterly review
A thirteen-point setup checklist and four review questions, with the next review in the calendar.
Sources and verification log
Every law, date, statistic and platform page used, with the month it was checked.
