Cómo sobrevivir al invierno: Consejos sobre chatbots de inteligencia artificial (IA) para familias en edad preescolar

Whether a holiday break stretches your patience, an unexpected school cancellation turns your schedule upside down, or sickness keeps you inside all day, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot like ChatGPT could be the missing link for preschool families. A tiny helper in your pocket — part genius, part therapist – multi-purpose chatbots work as digital superpowers. ChatGPT is one of the most popular AI tools but there are a range of AI assistants that include Apple’s Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, y Claude by Anthropic. 

Learn more about how AI chatbots can spark ideas to help you and your little learner through any challenge. 

What is an AI Multi-Purpose Chatbot

If you haven’t tried an AI multi-purpose chatbot before, it is a fascinating (and often addictive) experience. When used correctly, AI chatbots can be incredibly helpful for idea generation and creative problem-solving. Even the most basic AI chatbots compile information from millions of sources across the web, books, research articles, and conversations. They then look for patterns in how the information on that topic is expressed. Simply put, the answers you receive from an AI chatbot like Siri or Gemini are not just copied and pasted from one source. They are insights garnered from across many sources. By prompting an AI chatbot correctly with your voice or by typing in your prompt (depending on what chatbot you use), you can get help on virtually any topic. Plus, with more advanced AI multipurpose chatbots like ChatGPT you can customize the answers–and preferred tone of voice–to your preference. Voila! A personal helper right on your device.

How Preschool Parents Can Use An AI Chatbot

Let’s face it, parenting is hard. It takes patience, grace, and tools to navigate the ups and downs. At Denver Preschool Program, our research shows that when parents have lower levels of stress, they create more positive parent-child interactions. Winter is a time where cabin-fever, weather delays, and sickness can cause stress levels to rise. To help, we have compiled some examples of sanity-saving AI chatbot prompts to ensure you survive winter with your family and maybe even breeze through the season feeling capable and calm. 

Scenario: Surprise snow day school cancellation

• Prompt: Create an 8-hour day plan for me and a 4-year-old that includes an hour afternoon nap, snack time, a creative activity, and ideas for physical movement inside. 
• Prompt: Give me 10 ideas for creative craft activities using only household items. 
• Prompt: Help me figure out what to make for a family of four for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack. I only have the following ingredients to work with: (list what you have available). 

Scenario: A Sick child results in the family being stuck inside all day

• Prompt: What are the best calming podcasts for a tired preschooler? 
• Prompt: I need some screen-time ideas that are high-quality, educational, and 30 minutes or less.
• Prompt: Give me a few ideas for the kids to play on their own so that I can take a quick shower.

Scenario: Repair and reset a hard day

• Prompt: How do I save a day that has gone off the rails?
• Prompt: What are three ways I can bring whimsy to a boring meal/day/mood? 
• Prompt: What do I do after losing my temper with my family? How can I reset personally so that I can apologize to them?
• Prompt: I have 10 minutes by myself. What are five ways I can reset my nervous system in that timeframe? 

Scenario: You have no energy or patience left 

• Prompt: Give me five ideas for games I can do with my child while lying on the floor. 
• Prompt: Give me a pep talk that will give me energy to get through the day. Also, I need a script for how to talk my child through a current meltdown. 
• Prompt: (When you can’t even write a prompt and are using the voice option) What are some prompts I can ask you to get through a day with a preschooler, even though I have no energy or ideas left? 

Scenario: You want to get the most out of some time to yourself

• Prompt: What is a 20-minute moderate workout I can do with household items?
• Prompt: I want to start the year strong with my family. What are some journal questions that will help me set intentions for the new year?
• Prompt: I can’t take a nap, but I’d like to rest. What are some meditations or calm music options that I can listen to that will help me maximize 15 minutes of quiet time?

Tips to Prompt AI Chatbots to Get the Best Output

Sometimes we need humor, a pep talk, or fast, easy ideas. Sometimes we just need to take a breath. AI chatbots can help, but only if prompted correctly. Here are some tips (from ChatGPT itself) on how to correctly prompt the platform to get specific answers:

• Mention the who, the why, and the intended outcome. Examples: 
  • Create an imaginative game for my 4-year-old that will help improve her mood.
  • Help me tell my 60-year-old mother-in-law in a kind, loving, and patient tone that her style of discipline is not aligned with mine.
• Request a specific style or format. Examples:
  • Create a step-by-step plan. 
  • Write it in the form of a script. 
  • Please make me a bulleted list.
• Don’t worry about being perfect, just include the details. Example: 
  • Snow day, easy food, 2 toddlers, and a tired mom. Help, please.
• Refine, refine, refine. Not only do the more advanced AI multipurpose chatbots  respond to your requests, but they also learn the way you think and refine their output based on how you like to receive information. So, if the initial answers aren’t what you are looking for, ask the chatbot  to “make it shorter,” or “simplify that for me,” or “take option 3 and refine it knowing my kids are not behaving well together today.” The more you tell it, the better it gets. 
• Tell it the tone of voice you would prefer. This one can be fun as you can truly customize it to how you want to receive information. For instance, you can request, “speak to me in a kind, patient tone,” or “speak to me like my favorite character Olaf from the movie Frozen,” or “give me a pep talk using the inspiring humor of Ted Lasso.” 

From Upgrades to Household Support

Like most things, AI chatbots come with a range of capabilities and price tags. PCMag.com offers insights about the pros and cons of some of the more popular AI multipurpose chatbots.  Here are some more general suggestions: 

• Upgrade for advanced support. The free version of ChatGPT is available on any operating system and works well for most basic queries. For more advanced needs like deep research, complex data-driven tasks, quicker response time, and unlimited photo uploads, consider upgrading to ChatGPT Plus for $20/month. The paid version of Gemini offers storage and integration with most Google Apps.
• Downgrade for household help. For smaller tasks like shopping, playing music and podcasts, setting timers, or scheduling events, try more basic AI chatbots like Siri, Alexa, or Google Home. 

Keep in mind that even as AI chatbots improve, they are not 100% accurate. Check the information with reliable sources, especially when doing deep research (or when it comes to your child’s health and development). 

Keep Inspiration Flowing Into Your Inbox

From all of us at Denver Preschool Program, we hope your winter season is filled with unexpected joys, quality time with your family, and creative inspiration — wherever you find it. To stay updated about Denver preschool news and upcoming 2026 dates and events, sign up for the DPP monthly bilingual (English and Spanish) newsletter, Despacho familiar.