Children’s Book Review | Program Your Parents (+ Author Interview!)

Program Your Parents Review

Program Your Parents, written by Kai Synapse, offers a fun and honestly, ingenious way to teach your kids about AI.

The book opens with game instructions, then launches you directly into challenges where parents are the robots, kids are the programmers, and everything goes wrong.

In the first level of challenges, kids learn that AI follows exactly what you say, not necessarily what you mean. They learn this as they instruct their robot parents to put on a jacket...then watch their parent put it on their head or wear it like a cape.

In the second level of challenges, kids learn about loops and repeat modes when their parents won't stop patting their heads in the background while they complete other tasks.

In level three, they learn to find and correct bugs in their commands. In level four, they learn all about "learning mode" and the best way to train AI, ahem, their robot parent.

In level five, they learn to differentiate being confident from being right. And in level six, they celebrate the strictly human experiences that robots could never replicate.

Each level begins with an explanation of how AI/robots work, offers 7-12 different challenges to grasp the concept and perfect their own commands, summarizes what was learned in that level, and offers questions to help apply the concept to real life.

The end of the book offers loads more resouces, including options for car, table, and grandparent modes, robot error code definitions, tech word glossaries, and bonus activities.

I'll be honest...I picked up this book feeling a bit overwhelmed, because I'm not the best at learning and remembering game rules. (My apologies to my game-loving extended family!) But I set it down at the end straight up delighted with it.

First of all, I love the screen-free entertainment and pure connection this book offers families. You're talking directly to your children, distraction free, and get a load of secret tips from the author to make your kids laugh.

Also...what parent wouldn't love the opportunity to purposely frustrate their kids in a fun and well-meaning way (by taking their directions literally, rather than what they intended)? If this isn't funny payback, I don't know what is.

Secondly, the lessons learned by these challenges are absolutely vital to kids growing up these days. Learning how to taylor AI to your benefit, deciphering what's real versus what's confidently made up, and learning to navigate bugs, both in AI and day-to-day issues...it's all very practical and necessary to equip children for today's tech-powered world.

The way the author turns these lessons into challenges, and makes the challenges so funny and engaging, is a real breath of fresh air! I know my own 11-year-old can read a textbook and forget everything a few weeks later. But the things she learns from real-life experience, like these challenges, stay with her.

I could go on for a good, long while about this book, but if I have to end my review with one final note, I'll call out how it perfectly balances technology and humanity.

It teaches tech concepts through a technology-free family game. It applies AI programming to real life, for example, explaining, "Sounding sure isn't the same as being right, so check. That works for AI, videos, ads, playground rumors, and grown-ups who 'definitely know a shortcut.'"

And it offers lots of tips for establishing connections with your family. For example, the "Tech Swap" section suggests teaching your parent or grandparent one AI concept from the book, then allowing them to teach you an "old-school skill," like whistling with your fingers, playing a hand-clapping game, or writing your name in cursive.

Whether you want to teach your children to use AI, or just play a fun game together, this is an activity book that children, parents, and grandparents are sure to enjoy. You can find Program Your Parents on Amazon.

Program Your Parents Author Interview

Want to learn more about author Kai Synapse? I did too! He was gracious enough to field a few questions and share what’s next for him!

Deb: Program Your Parents strikes such a perfect balance between education and entertainment. What inspired you to write it?

Kai: Honestly, it started with the "would you rather" games I made for my daughter. She'd get bored with just talking and wanted to get up and move and do something silly.

I work on computers and we homeschool, so I thought, what if the game was just following directions, but goofy, with a little tech mixed in. That turned into Program Your Parents.

Deb: Do you have any favorite levels or challenges in the book? (Shh, we won't tell the other challenges.)

Kai: Mission 6, Sock Rescue. Sock on the floor, basket nearby, get it in.

My kids leave socks on the ground all the time. We play this one and they still do it, lol. I guess I haven't figured out how to program the kids perfectly yet.

Deb: This book is actually just one of a whole host of screen-free family entertainment books you write! Can you share a little about the mission of your writing with us?

Kai: I just want families to get closer by actually engaging with each other. I love games, but I couldn't find clean ones that fit our standards, so I started writing my own.

My daughter is my test agent. If she's not into it, it doesn't make the book.

Deb: Some parents (like myself) who aren't as comfortable navigating game rules can feel overwhelmed when they pick up game books like this one, and miss out on the very fun opportunities they offer! Do you have any tips for parents and grandparents to overcome that initial uncertainty to get started?

Kai: That was actually some of the first feedback we got, that it was too hard to get started. So we made "boot up in sixty seconds." You play the robot, and the how to play fits on one page in every book.

The worst thing is sitting there 20 minutes learning a game before you even get to play it. My kids hate that, and so do I.

Deb: This world is becoming increasingly tech-driven and, consequentially, IRL (in real life) isolated. Do you have any advice for parents trying to help their kids find a healthy balance between taking advantage of new technologies and prioritizing real-life experiences with friends and family?

Kai: I work in tech full time, but I'm also a dad of three, so I see both sides. Tech is good, but you need balance, and real life with your family comes first.

For us, that's walks at the park, reading together, doing lessons, and just talking. It's easy for everybody to end up off on their own even under one roof.

Deb: What's your vision for the future? Do you have more books in the works? Or any upcoming projects you're excited about?

Kai: Healthy, happy families that talk and have fun together.

We've got one more book coming, but it will be a while. The idea came from reader feedback, but I won't spoil it yet.

I want our books reaching real parents and teachers who need clean options for home and the classroom. No toilet humor, no magic, no occult, nothing scary. Just clean fun.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Kai!

You can pick up your own copy of Program Your Parents on Amazon and check out all of Kai's work on his website.