My 12-Year-Old Built a Boat with AI. I Watched the Whole Conversation.

March 25, 2026

Recently my son has been obsessed with the idea of building an RC boat out of found objects. He came to me with the question, “Why is my boat spinning in circles?” The first thing I did was try to learn about boat design. Quickly, though, I caught myself: why am I doing this? I handed him the iPad and unleashed him on MyDD.

MyDD is an AI chatbot we built for kids. Unlike ChatGPT, where parents can set restrictions but can’t actually see what their kid talked about, I can read every conversation. Also, MyDD calibrates its responses across five age bands; my son’s 12, so he gets responses styled for a 10-to-12-year-old, not an adult, and gives parents full visibility into every conversation. That means my son gets an AI that meets him where he is, and I’m not flying blind.

He started by asking why the boat wasn’t working the way he expected—it kept spinning in circles. MyDD responded with two potential culprits: thrusters or balance. It walked him through why each might be causing the problem and suggested simple fixes he could actually try, like making sure the boat floated level in the water or adding a rudder.

He followed up with questions he’d been pestering me about—specifically, which direction the motor should spin. MyDD gave him a few things to consider about single versus multiple props, then suggested some experiments he could run himself.

Satisfied with the responses, Gus gave it a shot but couldn’t crack his original design. He’d also been toying with the idea of 3D printing the hull, so he asked about that next. MyDD laid out the pros and cons of each approach, ultimately suggesting he keep experimenting with found objects to refine his design first, then 3D print something later once he had a better sense of what would actually work.

The conversation kept going—with a detour into “Brainrot 6-7” first (he’s 12, after all). But after a few sessions with MyDD, he returned to building with a new confidence and a clearer sense of where to turn when he got stuck. Over the next couple of days he built multiple iterations with mixed success, and eventually 3D printed a hull and inserted his motors and props. The building has spilled across two more weekends and trips to various ponds and creeks to test it out. Along the way, Gus has kept coming back to MyDD—asking more questions and thinking through new ideas whenever he hits a wall.

As a parent, I love seeing my kid doing non-digital things. On weekends I encourage him to get outside and build stuff, usually at the expense of my yard and tools. But his interests don’t always align with mine, and I don’t always know how to help. In this case, I know absolutely nothing about building a boat. Having MyDD available let him use AI the way I do—and start learning how to make the most of it. The AI didn’t 3D print anything. It didn’t cut up cardboard or use duct tape to create a rudder. It helped him think through problems and met him at his level. I didn’t have to worry about him being redirected to buy something or getting pulled into an open-ended rabbit hole. He got what he needed, and I could see exactly what was being said.

When I talk to other parents about AI, most of their fears center on the negatives—will it hurt their kids’ ability to think creatively or solve problems on their own? In my experience, it’s the opposite. I watched my son build something from a pile of junk, learn about boats and RC parts, and exercise his own imagination along the way.

Want to see this for yourself? Try MyDD free for 14 days (plans start at less than $7/month when paying annually)

The Conversation