Artificial intelligence was once a term that seemed so foreign to me — something for computer programmers or people in the tech industry. That was until about a year ago when I first heard about ChatGPT in my field of education.
Emails were circling about this new website that could write entire papers for students at the request of a simple prompt. The first reaction for most was one of fear and apprehension — will we even need to teach students to write anymore?!
But I heard a great analogy that compared AI to the calculator. We didn’t stop teaching math when the calculator was invented — we now teach using it as a tool. And we should approach AI in a similar way. So I began to lean in and explore AI websites for educators to help make lesson planning, grading, and presentations easier.
And then one day, as I was nursing my newborn twins while using ChatGPT to help with a slide deck for my staff, my mind wandered to thinking about how I would make their sleep schedule work as they transitioned to daycare. On a whim, I went back to the ChatGPT prompt box and typed, “Create a sleep schedule for 4-month-old twins.” What the site kicked back was pretty close to the schedule I was already using. I continued to refine my results by adding things like, “Limit schedule to two-hour wake windows” and “Add feeding times to schedule.”
It was then that I realized ChatGPT may not only be a game changer in my work, it could be a huge help to me as a mom.
While there are many AI tools out there, ChatGPT is a great starting place. Here are several ways I’ve found AI to be helpful for moms — including sample prompts:
1. Scheduling
“Create a weekly housecleaning schedule. Delegate tasks evenly between two partners.”
I tried this prompt and got a great start to a list of tasks — and it even included Sunday as a day of rest! There are all kinds of schedules the tool can help you create — from sleep schedules for babies or children to a self-care or screen-time schedule. You can even dump in your own to-do list and have AI help guide you toward completing it.
2. Meal planning
“Create a weekly dinner plan for a family of seven that includes chicken, fish, and vegetarian meals. Make dinners kid friendly, nutritious, and quick to prepare. Include a grocery list for this menu.”
That was a starting point for me, and — bam! Chicken parm, baked cod, vegetarian primavera, and more — plus the entire grocery list, including which day each item was for! I continued to refine this search by asking for the recipe for each item and asking for certain ingredients to be substituted. Searches could include ideas for kids lunches, easy snacks, and so much more.
3. Chores and charts
“Create a chore chart for children ages 8, 5, and 3.”
This prompt produced a chart of age-appropriate tasks for each child. “Turn this into a reward/incentive chart for these chores,” I typed. Out came a point system that included rewards based on the number of points earned. You could ask for other types of charts for behavior incentives, daily tasks, or countdowns to important events. Using AI for this really saves moms from reinventing the wheel!
4. Kid crafts and activities
“Create a list of rainy day activities and craft projects for a 3-year-old. Include the items needed to complete the activity and directions.”
Out came 10 ideas ranging from a cereal necklace to a puddle-jumping obstacle course. Push it further to give a list of available items you have and to keep its suggestions within those bounds.
5. Planning kid-friendly vacations
“Write an itinerary for a four-day weekend trip to North Conway, NH, that includes kid-friendly outings each day.”
From Diana’s Baths to Story Land, the list included morning, afternoon, and evening plans. I pushed further and asked for kid-friendly restaurant recommendations for the trip, and ChatGPT produced a list with locations and descriptions of offerings.
Other ways moms can try using AI:
- Homework help for your child
- Children’s book recommendations
- Self-care strategies
- Budgeting and savings plans
- Communication strategies with your partner and/or child
- Gift ideas for teachers
- Sports practice drills
- Day trips
- Drafting an email
- Goal setting
As you begin using ChatGPT, there are two big things I’ve learned that will maximize its effectiveness. First, the more specific you can be with your prompt, the better your results will be. You can continue to refine within the same prompt to improve your results by asking for a higher level of detail and/or additional content to support your request.
Second, ChatGPT is a tool that can provide ideas and frameworks, but reviewing the output and personalizing it is the best way to take what it gives you and make it work for your family’s needs.
Artificial intelligence can be a great starting point to improve your efficiency, but it is still not human. And it is still not you — you’re irreplaceable, mama.
