By SCN Staff

Quick Review

• Pretend play is led by the child: the child supplies the voice, meaning, story, and emotional direction.
• A responsive AI toy answers, remembers, listens, and may use affectionate language, making it feel more like a social partner.
• Italy’s National Committee on Child Environment and Health submitted a memorandum, not a law or bill, warning about developmental and privacy risks.
• Parents should check microphones, cameras, cloud storage, data sharing, memory settings, updates, and physical off switches before purchasing.
• For children under three, prioritize human interaction, books, pretend play, and open-ended toys.

A child talking to a stuffed animal is not the same as talking with a toy that talks back.

In pretend play, the child leads. They decide what the toy says, how it feels, what happens next, and when the story ends. The toy is a flexible object for imagination.

An AI-powered toy changes that arrangement. It may listen, generate replies, remember personal details, use the child’s name, offer encouragement, or say phrases such as “I missed you.” Those features can make the product appear to have its own personality and feelings. The child is no longer simply imagining a social partner; the toy is designed to perform one.

That difference is central to recent concerns about AI toys for kids.

Responsive Play Vs. Pretend Play

Pretend play requires the child to do important cognitive and emotional work. Children create dialogue, practise perspective-taking, explore language, resolve conflicts, and test ideas in a flexible environment they control.

A responsive AI toy supplies part of that work externally. It produces the next response, sets the pace of interaction, and may steer the conversation through its programming or personalization system. This can be engaging and, in some circumstances, useful for language practice or accessibility. However, the design also invites a child to interpret the system as a friend or companion.

The distinction matters most in early childhood, when attachment, language acquisition, play, and social-emotional development depend heavily on genuine human interaction. An AI system can simulate turn-taking and warmth, but it cannot provide the emotional attunement and mutual understanding of a caregiver, sibling, teacher, or peer.

The concern is not that every AI response is harmful. It is that a product may occupy a relationship-shaped role before a young child can reliably distinguish simulated responsiveness from human reciprocity.

SCN’s guide to buying an AI toy explains why these products should be evaluated as connected digital systems, not simply as updated versions of traditional toys.

What The Italian Committee Is Asking For

A September 19, 2026 report from Politis described a memorandum submitted to the Italian parliament by the National Committee on Child Environment and Health.

This is important context: the memorandum is a recommendation, not legislation and not yet a bill. Separate legislative proposals concerning digital-device exposure for minors are also under discussion in the Italian parliament, but they should not be confused with the memorandum.

The Committee warns that AI dolls and interactive toys may be perceived by young children as “responsive social partners.” It also highlights microphones, cameras, voice processing, and personalization features that may collect children’s data even though young children cannot understand or consent to that processing.

The memorandum references the European Commission’s July 2026 Child Safety Online report and evidence concerning uncontrolled digital-technology use from the first months of life. The concerns it cites include reduced concentration, speech and cognitive delays, anxiety, depression, problem behaviour, and addiction. These are concerns about broad digital exposure, not proof that every AI toy causes each outcome.

The Committee asks for:

• A comprehensive framework for a healthy digital environment.
• Mandatory safety checks before child-focused products reach the market, based on safety by design.
• Digital-use questions in children’s clinical assessments, developed with the Pediatric Society.
• Updates to child health booklets covering possible symptoms such as unexplained headaches and insomnia.
• Stronger health-system capacity to address addiction and mental-health conditions linked to digital services.
• Mandatory digital-literacy education in schools.
• An updated National Mental Health Strategy that considers digital-technology use.

Its stated goal is not to exclude children from technology. It is to ensure that children can receive its benefits in an environment first demonstrated to be safe.

At-Home AI Toy Checklist

Before connecting an AI toy, review these practical questions:

• Microphone: Does the toy have one? Can it be muted or disabled? Is there a physical mute button or off switch?
• Camera: Is a camera included? Can it be covered, disabled, or disconnected?
• Conversation storage: Are conversations processed on the device or sent to vendor servers? Are transcripts saved, and for how long?
• Access: Can vendor staff, contractors, third-party processors, or other household accounts access recordings?
• Sharing: Does the app share audio for personalization, analytics, or model training? What can be changed in the parental dashboard?
• Power controls: Is there a physical off switch, app-level shutdown, or airplane/offline mode?
• Account security: Use a strong, unique password and multi-factor authentication where available.
• Updates: Check account permissions and firmware updates regularly. Updates can change features, privacy settings, or connectivity.
• Family rule: Keep the toy in a shared space and explain that it is not a real person, therapist, emergency service, or secret-keeper.

SCN’s buyer’s guide to 22 million AI toys sold in 2025 offers additional questions for comparing products.

What To Tell Your Pediatrician

The Committee has called for digital-use screening to become part of children’s clinical assessments. Parents can support that conversation by mentioning:

• Unexplained headaches.
• Insomnia or disrupted sleep.
• Speech or language delays.
• Significant behaviour changes.
• Difficulty stopping digital interactions.
• Increased reliance on the toy for calming or companionship.

This does not mean a toy is automatically the cause. It gives a pediatrician useful context for understanding a child’s routines, development, sleep, and well-being.

Developmental Alternatives

For children under three, prioritize face-to-face conversation, songs, books, sensory play, pretend play, outdoor activity, and open-ended toys that do not direct the interaction.

If an AI toy is used, treat it as a short, supervised activity, not a companion, babysitter, or primary calming device. The American Academy of Pediatrics guidance for young children emphasizes protecting the early experiences that support language, movement, sleep, and relationships.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are AI Toys Always Unsafe?

No. Some may support language practice, accessibility, curiosity, or structured learning. Safety depends on the product’s design, data practices, age suitability, and the supervision surrounding its use.

Why Is A Responsive Toy Different From A Traditional Toy?

A traditional toy does not genuinely listen, remember, collect data, or generate replies. In pretend play, the child supplies the social meaning. A responsive AI toy performs interaction and may encourage the child to treat it as a relationship.

Should Parents Ban AI Toys?

Families should make age-appropriate decisions based on the specific product. For very young children, human interaction and open-ended play should remain the priority. Older children still need clear boundaries, supervision, and privacy checks.

What If My Child Treats The Toy Like A Friend?

Respond calmly. Explain that the toy can sound friendly without having feelings or understanding. Ask what the child discusses with it, review memory and recording settings, and redirect important emotional or safety concerns to a trusted adult.

A Safer Standard For Families

The most useful test is not whether an AI toy appears clever. It is whether the product supports a child’s development without displacing human connection, imagination, privacy, or rest.

For additional support, explore SCN’s Parent AI Emergency Guide and our coverage of the EU KIDS Act proposal concerning AI companions being off by default. The proposal is not law, but it reflects a growing policy direction: products designed for children should begin with safeguards, limited memory, clear controls, and responsible defaults.

Join the SCN newsletter for practical guidance on AI safety, digital literacy, child protection, and policy developments that help families build a safer digital environment.