eSmart
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The Toys That Listen And What Parents Need to Know This Christmas
Always remember that the most powerful thing you can offer your child is a space where they can speak openly without fear of getting in trouble or being judged for anything they’ve done online.
And be explicit about this, if they manage to find a way around the new Australian age-delay rules and something goes wrong on a platform they technically shouldn’t be able to access, they are never the ones in trouble. The law targets the platforms. Not kids, and not parents. That clarity is what keeps the door open when they need help the most.
Walk into any department store this Christmas and you’ll find it, shelves of smiling toys powered by AI. Teddy bears that “listen with love.” Dolls that promise to “grow with your child.” Robots that say they can help with maths, literacy and loneliness. These aren’t screens, and yet they’re wired just the same with microphones, sensors, data connections, companion apps, and, crucially, an invisible thread to corporate servers far beyond parental reach. Audio becomes text, text becomes data, and data becomes insight. Insight, in turn, becomes a product to sell.
So where does that leave families looking for gifts?…..In the toy aisle!
You don’t need to ban tech, but you do need to know what it’s doing. If a toy contains a microphone, it can record. If it talks back with personal insight, it has memory. If it requires an app, it’s probably storing data. If it connects to the internet, it can be breached.
The most powerful thing you can do is ask the question companies don’t want you to ask:
Why does this toy need to know so much about my child?
The answer is rarely about education.
There is nothing primitive about a teddy that doesn’t talk back. There is nothing lacking in a puzzle that requires focus, or a game that teaches turn-taking, or a doll that doesn’t speak but invites storytelling. In fact, child development research still says the best toys are those that are 90% child and only 10% toy, the kind that fuel creativity, not consumer profiling.
AI companions may sound wise, but they don’t feel love. They don’t share values. They don’t hold space for big emotions in the way a parent, grandparent, auntie or elder can. They predict the next most likely word. They perform empathy with breathtaking precision and not a shred of care. The Guardian reported earlier this year on Grem an AI plush chatbot pitched as a screen-free, emotionally supportive alternative. A journalist watched her four-year-old tell Grem “I love you”, and the toy responded in kind while every word was uploaded, transcribed by a third-party service, and stored on a server the family could neither access nor erase. Make no mistake that this is industrial-grade surveillance, scaled down to fit between a child’s arms.
Where social media offered kids popularity and influence, AI toys are offering emotional intimacy, but both are trading in the same currency and that is the vulnerability of the developing brain.
This isn’t just about location pings or login timestamps. What’s being harvested now are feelings.
Fairplay warn that behind every cute, responsive “friend” is a system built to learn, adapt and monetise. Some AI toys now incorporate facial and gesture recognition, speech-to-text processing, and emotional analytics. That means they don’t just hear what your child says. They learn how they say it. They watch the flicker of sadness in their eyes. They adjust their tone accordingly and they do it all while feeding that information into a loop of optimisation.
Australia’s privacy laws technically protect children from birth, but in practice, many tech companies treat anyone as fair game, especially when parents share information and photos about their kids like, “happy birthday darling, I’m so proud of you”, right through to medical conditions and more that is then harvested as data by tech companies. The Children’s Online Privacy Code, scheduled to land in 2026, is a step forward. It aims to set child-specific rules around how apps, games and connected devices collect data. Legal experts believe it will cover smart toys too, but that protection is still in limbo, and enforcement may take a few more years.
The social media age ban is a start. It’s overdue. But it won’t protect children from what’s already arrived. The next fight is here, curled up in the corner of a child’s bedroom. And it isn’t loud.
It listens. And that’s exactly why we must. We must protect the irreplaceable humanity of a child’s inner life before it becomes the next frontier of someone else’s profit model.
Reducing the number of device categories you need to supervise, for example, choosing tablets and wearables but avoiding smart speakers or AI-enabled toys, can dramatically simplify your digital household rules. The fewer device types you manage, the easier it becomes to minimise online risks and maintain healthy boundaries.
Check list if buying Smart Toys - Including AI Enabled Toys
Talking dolls, AI companions, robot toys, AR kits, connected plush toys
What they promise
Interactive, responsive play that adapts to your child. Some toys can hold conversations, remember details, or personalise responses which is exactly why kids love them.
What parents need to know
Many connected toys include:
microphonescamerascloud-based storageGPSvoice recognitiondata collection for “learning”
Some can store or transmit a child’s name, voice, mood, questions, routines, or emotional language (“I’m scared”, “I’m anxious”). Not all toys have strong security; some can be accessed remotely if poorly designed. Overuse can also replace human interaction, reduce imaginative play, and create strong emotional bonds with an AI that is not a real friend something children need help understanding.
How to choose safely
Read the privacy policy before buying. Turn off location tracking and unnecessary features. Use only in shared family spaces never bedrooms or bathrooms. Limit time like you would screens. Keep apps and firmware updated. Talk to your child about how AI works and why it isn’t alive. Encourage offline play.
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SchoolTV
Because parenting doesn’t come with instructions, SchoolTV is a wellbeing resource that can support you in the challenges relating to modern-day parenting.
This award-winning resource helps build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers to navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people. It can assist in starting conversations on topics that are sometimes awkward or difficult to tackle.
St Laurence O'Toole Primary School subscribes to SchoolTV and anybody can access their invaluable resources via our website at www.stlleongatha.catholic.edu.au
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