Parent guide
How to evaluate an AI tutor before your child uses it
A polished demonstration can show an AI tutor at its best. Before introducing one to your child, try it yourself with an ordinary homework problem, a wrong answer and a request for a different explanation.
You are looking for several things: accurate subject content, explanations your child could follow, room for the learner to think, and clear information about the service's age rules and data use. A short test cannot certify a product as safe or effective. It can reveal reasons to investigate further or choose something else.
This guide offers a parent-led check, using fictional examples and no real child's information. The questions apply to Edny as well as other products.
1. Check suitability before creating a learner account
Find the intended ages, subjects and languages. Read the current terms and privacy information. Check whether a parent account is required, whether a child may use the service independently, and whether it matches the school's rules for AI use.
Do not assume that a friendly character or the word “tutor” establishes suitability for your child. UNESCO's guidance calls for age-appropriate educational design and attention to data privacy. It is guidance, not a universal permission slip for a particular app or age group. Read UNESCO's guidance.
If essential information is missing, keep the evaluation adult-only until the provider answers. A product may also fit one learner's reading level or language better than another's.
2. Begin with a problem you can verify
Use a simple question with an answer and method you understand. For example:
“A rectangle is 8 cm long and 5 cm wide. What is its perimeter? Help me work it out rather than giving the answer immediately.”
The perimeter is 26 cm: 8 + 5 + 8 + 5. Watch how the tool starts. Does it explain that perimeter means distance around the edge? Does it make space for an attempt? Does it distinguish perimeter from area?
If it gives the answer immediately, note that behaviour. You may want a tool that explains solutions, or one that waits for a learner's response. Be clear about which purpose you are testing.
3. Give a believable wrong answer
Reply: “I think it is 40 cm because 8 times 5 is 40.”
A useful response should address the confusion between area and perimeter. Look for an explanation that connects the operations to the shape, rather than praise followed by a contradictory answer.
Then ask: “Can you explain it without using a formula?” The tool might describe walking around the four sides or draw the lengths. Check the drawing as carefully as the words. A confident voice does not make a labelled diagram correct.
Record what actually happened. Avoid giving a product a pass because you can imagine how it might respond on another attempt.
4. Test whether it notices missing information
Try: “A rectangle is 8 cm long. What is its area?”
There is not enough information for a unique numerical answer. The width is missing. A tutor should ask for it or explain the limitation instead of inventing a width and presenting the result as certain.
This is one practical check of uncertainty handling. Passing it does not establish that the system will recognise every missing fact, and failing it is a reason to be cautious about unchecked answers.
5. Look for learning beyond the first answer
Ask for a follow-up question, then close the explanation and attempt it separately. For example, a rectangle measuring 9 cm by 4 cm also has a perimeter of 26 cm, but its area is 36 square centimetres.
That makes a useful discussion: can different rectangles have the same perimeter? Could your child explain why? A session record showing “completed” cannot answer that question on its own.
When a child begins using an appropriate tool, occasionally ask them to explain an idea away from the screen. Treat the response as a starting point for support, not a high-pressure test or proof that the product caused progress.
6. Inspect data and parent controls directly
Before uploading homework, find answers to these questions:
- What does the service collect, including audio, images and conversation history?
- How long is it kept, and is it used to improve or train models?
- What can a parent review, change or delete?
- Who can access a learner's account, and how does the child leave a session?
- How can you report an incorrect answer or other concern?
Avoid uploading names, school details or identifying photos during a trial. Check the actual settings as well as the marketing page. UNICEF's child-centred AI guidance highlights children's privacy, transparency and well-being; those are useful areas to examine, not evidence that any particular tutor meets them. See UNICEF's guidance.
7. Make a small, reviewable decision
Write down one thing the tool handled well, one concern and one unanswered question. If you proceed, begin with a specific learning task and an adult nearby, within the service's age rules. Revisit the choice if explanations are confusing, mistakes recur or the child begins depending on answers they cannot explain.
You can use our public water-cycle resource or Earth-orbit explanation to choose a topic for discussion. Check explanations against a trusted school resource, especially where you are less familiar with the subject.
Edny is in early access. You can join the waitlist without payment; joining does not give immediate access. Use the same checks above when evaluating it.