Using ChatGPT to teach my son about anger
Originally posted on LinkedIn, January 23, 2025.
A few days ago, after a violent incident at school, I sat down with my son to talk about times when "anger took over." I knew I had to help him understand that feeling and find a way to handle it, but I did not know how to approach the conversation in a way that would stick.
So I turned to ChatGPT. I shared the examples I had collected from my son and asked for advice. Within minutes, it gave me a structured process:
- A clear, simple explanation of what anger is and how to recognize it.
- A toolbox for dealing with it, including techniques to stop, breathe, think differently, and fill out a table with possible responses.
I turned the material into a document and printed it. Then I sat down with my son for a one-hour session in which he read, thought, filled out the table, and, most importantly, learned about emotions and self-control.
It gave me a lesson I could actually teach. This was not just an hour spent talking about anger. It was an hour of learning and building tools for life.
What struck me most was that I do not know if I could have done this on my own, certainly not at this level. Here is the document we used.
AI is not only useful for analytical work. It can also help us teach what really matters.
