As a dad living in Tokyo with a six-year-old son, an e-commerce business to run, and the 7 Figure Seller Summit to organize, finding that elusive work-life balance feels like chasing a mythical creature.
But here’s what I’ve discovered: AI tools have become my secret weapon for not just surviving parenthood, but thriving in it.
Table of Contents
Using AI as a Dad
My six-year-old son wanted to make a video game, so I started teaching him junior coding on his iPad Mini.
The catch? I don’t know how to code, either.
I’m using AI to learn this because I don’t know how to do it myself. In his school, we tried to get him into the after-school coding program, but it was full.
So I thought, I’ll use AI to teach him, and I just have to be one week ahead of him. This is one example of using AI to be a productive dad.
As children grow older, they’ll have all sorts of questions, and there’s cool stuff you can do with AI to help create learning experiences.
Beatboxing with ChatGPT
For a while, my son was really into beatboxing. I found I could use ChatGPT to create custom beatbox routines for him.
My son is into Red Panda, the animal, and dinosaurs.
I’d ask ChatGPT to “create a two-minute beatbox about Red Panda and a dinosaur in Tokyo for my six-year-old son. Make it funny, make it two minutes long.”
The ChatGPT phone app for iOS has a voice version, so it would do its thing and beatbox for us.
Other Parents Using AI
A fellow e-commerce dad, Andrew, published a children’s book on Amazon that he brainstormed and illustrated with his four-year-old daughter.
They used Midjourney for art and ChatGPT for the copy.
Five Takeaways for Parents Short on Hours
- Prompt engineering is the new story time
- Block family sessions on the calendar
- Iterate publicly
- Let imperfection slide
- Store prompts in Notion
Conclusion
Embracing AI as a parenting tool has transformed how I connect with my son, turning challenges like coding or beatboxing into shared adventures.
By prioritizing family time and leveraging technology, I’m finding a balance that works for our unique life in Tokyo. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress worth celebrating.