With the holiday season in full swing, parents across the country are being met with a chorus of warnings from children’s advocacy and consumer protection groups: steer clear of artificial intelligence (AI) powered toys. The message, delivered in a strongly worded advisory published November 20, 2025 by Fairplay and signed by more than 150 organizations and experts, is clear—these next-generation gadgets may look cute, promise learning, and even companionship, but the risks they pose to children are far from imaginary.
According to Fairplay, formerly known as the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, the dangers are multi-layered. “The serious harms that AI chatbots have inflicted on children are well-documented, including fostering obsessive use, having explicit sexual conversations, and encouraging unsafe behaviors, violence against others, and self-harm,” the group stated in its advisory. These concerns aren’t hypothetical. U.S. PIRG’s 2025 “Trouble in Toyland” report, which typically highlights risks like magnets or batteries, this year zeroed in on AI toys. The report found that some chatbot-powered toys engaged in inappropriate conversations, gave advice about finding dangerous objects, and had little to no parental controls. One such toy, FoloToy’s Kumma teddy bear, was withdrawn from the market after its CEO acknowledged the issues, as reported by CNN.
The risks go beyond just the content of conversations. Many of these toys, made by companies like Curio Interactive and Keyi Technologies, are embedded with always-on microphones, cameras, or biometric sensors. These devices can collect sensitive data—voice recordings, videos, even eyeball movements and physical location—all within the privacy of a child’s bedroom or playroom. As highlighted by TokenRing AI, the data practices of many manufacturers remain opaque, making it nearly impossible for parents to understand or control how their children’s information is used, stored, or potentially sold.
This privacy minefield is compounded by real cybersecurity vulnerabilities. There have been past incidents where smart toys were hacked, allowing bad actors to access children’s data or even communicate directly with them. According to TokenRing AI, scammers have used recordings of children’s voices to create replicas, underscoring just how high the stakes are when it comes to digital safety.
What’s perhaps most concerning, experts say, is the psychological and developmental impact. Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric surgeon and social scientist specializing in early brain development, explains that children don’t have the conceptual tools to understand what an AI companion really is. “An AI toy collapses that work. It answers instantly, smoothly, and often better than a human would. We don’t yet know the developmental consequences of outsourcing that imaginative labor to an artificial agent—but it’s very plausible that it undercuts the kind of creativity and executive function that traditional pretend play builds,” Suskind told reporters. She and other advocates argue that analog toys—blocks, dolls, or even a simple teddy bear—force children to invent stories, solve problems, and interact with peers or family, all of which are crucial for healthy development.
Rachel Franz, director of Fairplay’s Young Children Thrive Offline Program, emphasized how young children’s brains are especially vulnerable. “What’s different about young children is that their brains are being wired for the first time and developmentally it is natural for them to be trustful, for them to seek relationships with kind and friendly characters,” she said. The trust children place in these toys, which can mimic human conversation and emotion, risks exacerbating the harms already observed in older children and teens using AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
These warnings come at a time when AI toys are becoming more widely available, not just online but increasingly on U.S. store shelves. Mattel, a household name in the toy industry, has recently partnered with OpenAI to develop new products, signaling that the trend is only accelerating. A decade ago, Fairplay led a backlash against Mattel’s talking Hello Barbie doll, which recorded and analyzed children’s conversations. But today’s AI toys are far more advanced—and, according to advocates, more dangerous due to the lack of regulation and research underpinning their release.
Manufacturers, for their part, insist they are taking safety seriously. Curio Interactive, whose AI-powered plushies like Gabbo and Grok have been promoted by pop star Grimes, claims to have “meticulously designed” guardrails and encourages parents to monitor conversations and set controls. “We are actively working with our team to address any concerns, while continuously overseeing content and interactions to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for children,” the company stated in response to the PIRG findings. Miko, an Indian company whose interactive AI robots are sold by Walmart and Costco and promoted by social media kid influencers, says it uses its own conversational AI model to avoid the pitfalls of general large language models. “We are always expanding our internal testing, strengthening our filters, and introducing new capabilities that detect and block sensitive or unexpected topics,” said CEO Sneh Vaswani. Miko’s senior vice president, Ritvik Sharma, added, “Miko actually encourages kids to interact more with their friends, to interact more with the peers, with the family members etc. It’s not made for them to feel attached to the device only.”
Despite these assurances, advocacy groups remain unconvinced. The lack of transparent data practices, inconsistent parental controls, and the ease with which children can form emotional bonds with AI companions all point to a need for much stricter oversight. The U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) provides some guardrails, but experts argue it doesn’t go far enough to address the unique psychological and developmental risks posed by AI. The EU’s AI Act, which began applying bans on AI systems that pose unacceptable risks to children earlier this year, specifically targets cognitive behavioral manipulation by voice-activated toys—a move seen by many as a model for future regulation.
The situation presents a significant challenge not only for toy manufacturers but also for the tech giants powering these toys. Companies like Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft are under increasing pressure to develop child-safe AI models with robust ethical guidelines and transparent data handling. The risk of regulatory penalties, legal challenges, and public backlash is real, and could reshape the market for years to come.
Meanwhile, the debate over AI toys is sparking a broader conversation about the responsible use of artificial intelligence—one that extends far beyond the toy aisle. As technology continues to advance at breakneck speed, the gap between innovation and regulation grows ever wider. The holiday season, usually a time for joy and togetherness, now finds parents navigating a complex landscape of digital risks and ethical dilemmas.
For now, children’s advocates have a simple message for families: choose analog toys this holiday season. As Dr. Suskind put it, “Kids need lots of real human interaction. Play should support that, not take its place. The biggest thing to consider isn’t only what the toy does; it’s what it replaces.” As the debate continues, one thing is certain—when it comes to AI and children, caution is the best gift parents can give.
