By: Mary Marquez
I just opened ChatGPT one day and started talking to it like I was texting a mom friend. I am not suggesting become best friends with OpenAI but in the few conversations I started having I realized that this tiny message box on my phone could end up being a big help. Here are just 5 different ways I started using AI to help with my mental load of raising children and managing a home.
- Meal Planning
- I asked Open AI “can you give me recipe idea if I tell you a list of all the things in my pantry and fridge,” sure enough the answer was of course! and very friendly like. I think it adapted to the way I text and sound because a lot of its responses are very friendly as if it was another person on the other side. I listed out pasta, chicken, cheese, bbq sauce and I gave me a full list of recipes I could make with that. Now that I am typing it out the recipe seems obvious. however when its close to dinner time and its been a long day burn out was taking over most of my brain space so there was no room for “Oh I can make a cheesy chicken BBQ dish with this,” it turned out amazing I even asked it to add and ingredient and it gave me directions on how to incorporate a last minute flavor!
- So try asking “Give me 5 kid-friendly dinner recipes using…(list your ingredients..) ”
- Creative/Sensory play ideas
- If you’re in instagram or any social media for that matter and a mom, well then the term “sensory” has most likely popped up in your algorithm. although sometimes there can just be to much information. I really wanted an exact plan of how I could bring age appropriate sensory regulation into our daily lives. I couldn’t find anything like that on the internet so I asked ChatGPT to help me make one. I asked “can you help me come up with sensory regulation activities for ages 2-9” and l just like that a list was created. the best part is after every response it will guide in what to ask for next. It might say can I create a printable document for you or make you an image.
- Personalized images or charts
- This one takes the most time. I feel like everyone is using AI to make silly images. I think if AI had feelings it would say “let me show you my worth and put me to work” “stop making me do silly things” okay even AI probably needs a good laugh too. Yes I know I am humanizing it too much. It does feel so much like a personal assistant though. especially when it create chore chart, thank you cards, recipe cards, honestly any image you want it can help you make. Maybe this can even be used as a reward for your kids. they can come up with an image to create into a sticker.
- Scripts for the tough moments
- This one is going along the same lines as the sensory ideas. Sometimes there is just too much parenting information out there. Then there are ideas that conflict with each and its like which Phd do we believe..okay I digress. try asking AI “Can you give me gentle parenting tips on how to handle a meltdown with my 5 year old” Honestly this one can be very personalized. Not that AI is going to become the God of parenting tips now but it can help give us a straight forward reminders we need on the way we choose to parent. and also on our children’s development too. Maybe you don’t have the energy to read through a tone of parenting books or new posts this month, but AI can condense a lot of the information into an easy read list for those tough weeks, days, months..years. It could even ask you if you want a printable meltdown survivor card.
- Letting AI help me build a “mommy” blog
- I want to write all my own blog posts, that was the dream. However I never hit the start button. Then AI came along and it was like a pressure was relieved I didn’t have to be perfect. I will admit the first few post on my blog were all my ideas but I did ask ChatGPT to help me write them. it was like I instantly had a partner in crime. I could have all the ideas and let my creativity shine but not have any of a grammatical pressure. it was bliss. Until I felt like all my ideas got watered down with every post I had AI write. This was the down fall. A big watered down fall. ha-ha…okay moving on.. So here I am in all my imperfect glory writing about how I have this amazing tool in my back pocket all day and it I know will help me believe in myself and give me the smarts to write and the know how to build a blog. However it won’t be able to give play filled moments my voice. that’s the difference.
Conclusion
I really have no idea what I am doing ever. Do any of us? I am mean we all try. Motherhood is life, it’s all the things. it’s especially messy, overstimulating, trying, crying, joyful, rewarding it every little thing and all the big moments. We’re all going through it but most of us are going through it alone. That’s kinda the way it is. Maybe AI watered down my blog ideas and didn’t make them as excited as I saw in my head. Maybe it helped me organize and plan and coach me on parenting. The main thing that it did do for my motherhood, was give me a tool that helps me not feel like I’m doing this all on my own. Try asking ” I had a really tough mom-ing day today can you give me some positive feedback?”
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