15/08/2026
Children’s Childhood, Imagination and AI: Are We Limiting Creativity?
By Prof. Dr. Ghulam Mustafa
Dean, Faculty of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a part of our daily lives. It is helping us learn, work, communicate and solve problems. There is no doubt that AI can bring many benefits to society. However, when we talk about very young children, especially those between the ages of 2 and 5, we need to be more careful.
At this age, children learn differently. They learn by touching things, asking questions, playing, observing people, making mistakes and using their imagination. They do not need every moment of their day to be filled with entertainment or technology.
Sometimes, boredom is useful.
When a child has nothing to do, the mind starts looking for something to do. A child may turn a box into a car, a stick into a sword, or a few stones into characters in a story. These simple activities may look meaningless to adults, but they are important exercises for imagination and creativity.
Today, technology can remove this natural space very quickly. A child feels bored, and immediately a phone or tablet is offered. A few taps can bring videos, games, music or AI-generated stories. The child no longer has to create something from nothing.
This does not mean that AI is bad for children. The real question is how and when we use it.
AI can become a useful educational tool, but for very young children, human interaction, physical play, storytelling, drawing, outdoor activities and simple conversations with parents are extremely valuable.
There is another important issue. When AI gives children instant answers, we should ask whether we are giving them enough opportunities to think for themselves.
A child asking, “Why is the sky blue?” is not only asking for an answer. The question itself is an opportunity to explore. Instead of immediately giving the answer through a device, parents can ask, “What do you think?” That small conversation can develop curiosity and independent thinking.
The same applies to creativity.
If an AI tool can instantly create a picture, story or song, children may enjoy the result. But children also need the experience of creating something with their own hands, even if it is not perfect. A simple drawing made by a child may not be beautiful, but the process of creating it is more important than the final picture.
We should therefore not think of AI only as a technological issue. It is also a parenting, education and human-development issue.
The future generation will certainly need AI literacy. They will need to understand how AI works, how to use it responsibly and how to benefit from it. But before teaching children how to use powerful technologies, we should make sure they develop the human qualities that technology cannot replace: curiosity, imagination, patience, communication, empathy and independent thinking.
Perhaps we should not try to remove every moment of boredom from a child’s life.
Maybe we should sometimes allow a child to sit quietly, look around, ask questions, make up a story, play with ordinary objects or simply say:
“I don’t know what to do.”
Because that empty space may not really be empty.
It may be the space where imagination begins.
