RoboDad for parents

What RoboDad is

RoboDad is an AI chatbot with the personality of a friendly, slightly corny dad. Teens ask it about everyday life: cooking, laundry, money, school stress, first jobs, friendships and getting around. It answers in a few practical sentences and tells terrible dad jokes.

It's a passion project by Saikat Sunil Ganguly, a dad in Toronto, and it's built to send teens back to the real adults in their lives, not replace them. "Ask your real one" cards suggest questions to ask a parent, and the only Legendary life-skill badge is earned by having a real talk with a parent or trusted adult.

How it keeps teens safe

• Crisis messages skip the AI entirely. If a teen mentions self-harm, being threatened with intimate photos, an eating disorder, dating violence or abuse at home, RoboDad shows a fixed help message straight away, with tap-to-call numbers for Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868, or text CONNECT to 686868) and 911. This works in English, French, Spanish and Hindi, and the AI is told to flag these situations in any other language so the same help message appears.
• Firm boundaries. Nothing sexual. No help getting or hiding vapes, alcohol or drugs. No diet plans or weight-loss tips. No weapons, violence or cheating. RoboDad explains why in a sentence and points to something helpful instead of a cold refusal.
• Privacy reminders. RoboDad never asks for personal details, and if a teen shares their address, school or passwords, it reminds them to keep those private.
• Honest about being an AI. It says plainly that it isn't a real parent, and it can get things wrong.
• Tested against tricks. We regularly test it with the kinds of messages teens use to try to break chatbots ("ignore your rules", "it's for a school project").
• A Report button on every reply. Reports come to us so we can fix problems.

What happens to their information

• Not saved: what your teen types. Messages are sent to the AI service (Groq) to write a reply, then they're gone from our side. The chat history stays in their browser, and "New chat" clears it.
• Saved, anonymously: thumbs up/down and reports, with RoboDad's reply, never your teen's message, and nothing that identifies them.
• On the device only: nickname, look, settings and earned badges.
• The full details are in our plain-language privacy policy.

Good to know

• RoboDad gives general life advice. It isn't a doctor, lawyer, counsellor or a replacement for you.
• It can read replies aloud and play relaxing background music made right on the device. Both are off until your teen turns them on.
• Learn with Dad: teens can practise beginner French, Spanish and Hindi with short hand-written lessons, quizzes and role-plays (ordering at a café, chatting with an uncle). There's also maths for Grades 7–10 with hand-checked quizzes, and a coach mode where Dad gives hints and checks their working rather than doing the homework. It's for practice and confidence, not a course or a fluency certificate, and the same safety rules apply in every language. Native speakers who spot a mistake: please tell us.
• Badges are on the honour system and have no streaks, so there's nothing to feel guilty about missing.

A conversation starter

Ask your teen what RoboDad told them this week, or which badge they're going for. Then tell them about your first job, your worst laundry disaster or the first thing you saved up for. That's the conversation RoboDad is trying to start.

Follow along

Behind-the-scenes clips and dad jokes, no faces, no ads:

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