AI Slop and brainrot videos are taking over

We now have another reason to pay attention to what our kids are watching on YouTube, because a new study indicates that as much as 20-33% of the videos in the YouTube feed could be considered “AI slop” and/or “brainrot” - essentially, low quality AI generated videos designed to flood social feeds, hyper-stimulate, and farm engagement.

The scary thing is that they seem to be effective, given the billions of views some of these channels are racking up.

It’s worth having a conversation with your kids about the pervasiveness of this content, how and why it’s created, and that it’s not good for their brains or their mental health. Encourage them to stick to quality channels we/they know and trust… and maybe steer clear of YouTube Shorts.

The frightening ways kids are using AI companions

I keep bringing this topic up here becuase it must be on every parent’s radar - when it comes to AI companionship, we are essentially running a massive, unregulated experiment on our mental health. We are starting to see more research that sound the alarm bells in terms of how kids are engaging, how often, and early impacts.

• Violent roleplay: A recent study (still under peer review) found that when kids use AI, 42% of the time it’s for companionship, with a significant percentage engaging in violent roleplays: 44% of interactions by eleven year olds (!!??) took violent turns. Moreover, half of the violent roleplays were sexual in nature.

• Unregulated “toys”: physical AI toys are marketed as cuddly friends but many don’t have strict enough guardrails and will give explicit and alarming responses.

• The mental health risks are scary to say the least, if not life threatening. A recent Washington Post article shares one family’s harrowing account in detail of their young daughter and highlights the growing use and risks.

China just this week announced a draft set of sweeping rules to prevent AI chatbots from emotionally manipulating users, including requiring human intervention if a user mentions suicide, guardian notification for minors and elderly if a user discusses self-harm, prohibited content, usage limits, and safety audits.

My thoughts: I’m glad to see steps being taken and hope more countries follow suit, although observing the almost complete lack of AI regulation in the US makes me feel less optimistic about what happens here. 😕 

Lemonading - a simple strategy for greater health and happiness in 2026 🍋

As we kick off 2026 and look to make this year better than last, we often jump to setting big goals and habit-changing resolutions (that often fail to stick). But something that could make a bigger impact on our health and happiness than anything else is actually something small and simple (and, joyful).

It’s called ‘lemonading’ - a skill by which we playfully and creatively imagine positive possibilities in situations while maintaining realism about the challenges. Essentially, lemonading is optimism + creative problem solving.

In a recent study, lemonading was shown to improve cognitive flexibility, increase creativity and innovation, and strengthen emotional resilience… so, great for us AND for our kiddos!

To give lemonading a try:

• Turn a routine task into a game: challenge yourself to find a new way to complete a task or add a creative twist.

• Use humor as a reset button: when something stressful happens, think of it as a scene in a comedy. It helps lighten the mood and reset perspective.

• Simply ask “What if?”: embrace your inner 5 year old and ask yourself “what if?” to play with different possibilities.

• Make problem solving social: brainstorm solutions with a friend (bonus, this is also shown to significantly strengthen relationships/friendships!)

• Embrace playful movement: dance a little while waiting for your morning coffee or run around with your kids in the back yard.

  

  Source: Gemini

Try AI as your 2026 Life Coach

Many of us are now using AI more than we realize or would like to admit, but a benefit of all this use is that these LLMs have enough chats and data about us where we can start to put them to work as a Life Coach of sorts. Start 2026 off with a reflection and exploration of the year past and the year ahead.

Pro tip: you’ll want to try this prompt with whatever AI chatbot you use most frequently with the memory feature having been activated. (FWIW, I’ve been using/preferring Gemini most frequently)

Self-growing food

There are now farms in China that plant, grow, and harvest food fully automatically.

The ultimate Power-Up

With all the data about the downsides of screen time and social media, it’s a little refreshing to see that it’s not all bad. A new study shows that playing Super Mario Bros. games sparks childlike wonder, boosts happiness, and can reduce burnout risk.