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Published Dec 19, 2025
No AI Toys for Kids this Holiday Season! Help Promote Fairplay's AI Toys Advisory
There’s lots of buzz about AI — but artificial intelligence can undermine children’s healthy development and pose unprecedented risks for kids and families. That’s why, 78 organizations and 80 experts in child development and technology’s impact on kids, strongly advise families NOT to buy AI toys for children this holiday season. Help PA Unplugged spread the word!
Ready to take action?
Fairplay is fighting back and organizing. They’ve issued an advisory — endorsed by over 150 advocacy groups and child development experts around the world, including PA Unplugged — urging families not to buy AI toys this holiday season.
Fairplay's AI Toys Toolkit
This toolkit from Fairplay includes sample social media posts, images, and a newsletter blurb to make it easy for you to share with your community.
Email for Parents, Colleagues, etc.
Action TemplateParents and caregivers want what is best for their children. And years of research have shown that the best toys for kids are ones that are open-ended and allow children to take charge of play. You could consider them a tool for discovering the world around them and who they are on the inside.
But this year, there will be new toys on the shelves (and in catalogs and in commercials) this holiday season with AI (Artificial Intelligence) embedded inside them.
They may look like a friendly robot or they may be even more disguised as a cute stuffed creature.
But buyer beware!!
Marketing companies (who mainly care about profits and lack expertise in child development I might remind you) want you to think it’s the next best thing, the toys of the future! They tout them as a way to increase imagination levels through interactive experiences. And some are being extra sneaky when they have the gall to promote them as “screen-free”!
Here’s what AI toys REALLY deliver:
- False trust
- False relationships
- Zero privacy
- Mature chat bot technology
- Stunted creativity and learning
Artificial intelligence and other technologies are outpacing research and regulation. It’s impossible to know at this point what harm it could cause. But we do know what is best for kids - play. That is based on numerous studies and years of implementation.
AI does not belong in children’s toys. ARTIFICIAL being the key word. When you are shopping this holiday season, stick to what we know are beneficial toys for children - open-ended toys where the child stays in control. They won’t need batteries or to be charged!
Don’t leave parenting or friendships to robots. Keep childhood authentic, not artificial!
If you want to learn more about AI toys, Fairplay recently put out an advisory to parents everywhere: DON’T BUY AI TOYS this holiday season. Check out the full advisory on Fairplay's website.
Why This Action Matters
Fairplay is fighting back and organizing. They’ve issued an advisory — endorsed by over 150 advocacy groups and child development experts around the world, including PA Unplugged — urging families not to buy AI toys this holiday season.
READ THE ADVISORY
The danger of AI toys is not hypothetical. Recent testing by US PIRG has already found instances of AI toys telling children where to find knives, teaching them how to light a match, and even engaging them in sexually explicit conversations. AI Toys may harm young children right now.
Please promote and share Fairplay's advisory with your local group.
Linked here, you’ll find a toolkit that includes sample social media posts, images, and a newsletter blurb to make it easy for you to share with your community.
We are also linking a folder here with email templates and printable post cards, which can be printed and shared in local toy stores, doctor's offices, early childhood centers -- any location where young families go!
We appreciate your support in spreading the word about this advisory and helping families make informed decisions this holiday season to amplify this important message: AI toys are NOT safe for kids! Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions. Thank you!
In partnership,
The PA Unplugged Team