AI for grandparents is not a class you have to pass. It is a way to show up in their world without pretending you are cool.
I’m 67. I spent decades in restaurants. I am not going to learn every app, every game, and every emoji. I also don’t need to. I just don’t want to freeze when a text comes in that looks like another language.
This is the relationship with the kid. Show up. Don’t lecture. Don’t buy a bunch of stuff. Talk to them. Send the note yourself.
If you don’t have grandkids, the same three uses work for a great-niece or a neighbor’s kid. The spine is still grandparents.
If you’re brand new, start with What is AI? and How to Start Using AI Without Feeling Overwhelmed. Then come back here.
Three ways I use AI for grandparents this week
I open Grok or ChatGPT. Those are the two I actually use. If typing is a pain, talk the prompt instead. I wrote about that in You Don’t Have to Type: How I Talk to AI Instead.
Fill in the brackets. Leave out names, schools, and addresses. If you would not write it on a postcard, do not paste it.
1. A confusing text, without the “kids these days”
You are not silly for not knowing. The text was not written for you.
Paste this:
Please explain this text in plain English. I am a grandparent. Don't make me feel silly. Don't give me a lecture about kids these days. Tell me what they likely mean. Then give me one short, friendly reply I could send if I want. I will edit it so it sounds like me. Here is the text: [paste the message, no names]
Read the explanation. If the reply sounds like a greeting card, change it. You still send it. The AI does not.
If the text is actually a hard conversation with an adult child, that is a different job. Use How I Use AI When I Need to Say Something Without Starting a Fight.
2. A game or a school topic, in kitchen-table English
This is so YOU can talk. It is not so the kid can skip the work.
Paste this:
I am a grandparent. Explain [Minecraft / the solar system / the book they mentioned] in plain English, like we are sitting at the kitchen table. Keep it short. Give me two questions I can ask them so they get to do the talking. Do not write the homework. Do not give answers they should find themselves.
Ask the questions. Let them teach you. That is the whole point.
3. A short note that sounds like grandpa
Not “dearest.” Not a poem. You.
Paste this:
Help me write a short note. It should sound like me, not a greeting card. I am 67. I talk plain. What I want to say: [I saw your drawing / I hope the game went okay / thinking of you]. Keep it to [4] sentences. No "once upon a time." No pet names I don't use. Do not put in a name, a school, or a town.
Copy it out. Change anything that does not sound like your mouth. Then send it yourself. A text is fine. A paper note is fine. The tool drafted. You still did the showing up.
Optional: a silly picture you invent together
I like making fun animated images. That is my hobby. It is not the assignment.
If you want a fifth minute of fun, invent something together. A dinosaur on a bicycle. A cat in a chef hat. A coloring page. Do not upload a real photo of a child. Do not use their name, their school, or their street.
Paste this:
Invent a simple coloring-page idea of [a dinosaur on a bicycle]. No real people. No names. Describe it clearly so I can ask you to draw it. Keep it something a kid could color.
If that feels like extra, skip it. Most readers only need the text, the game, and the note.
What not to paste
No names. No school. No address. No real photos of the child. No account numbers. No medical details.
You can say “a game they like” without naming the kid. You can say “a science chapter” without naming the school. The AI is helping you understand and write. It does not need a file on a grandchild to do that.
What this will not do
AI does not make you cool. It does not raise the kid. It does not send the text. It does not sit at their table.
You still talk to them. You still hit send. A good note can still get a short reply. That is kids. That is not a failed prompt.
It is a tool. I wrote more of the everyday uses in How I Use AI Every Day as a 67-Year-Old. This post is just the grandkids job.
Try one thing this week
Pick one. A confusing text. A game. A four-sentence note.
Open Grok or ChatGPT. Paste the prompt. Fill in the brackets. Make it sound like you. Then send it yourself, or ask the kid the two questions the next time you talk.
If you try it, tell me in the comments how it went. I read every one. I’m still learning this with you.
— Andrew
