What happened — and why it touched a nerve
A parenting dilemma, a nursery biting incident, and an influencer with millions of followers asking an AI for help. Molly-Mae Hague, the former Love Island finalist turned businesswoman, told fans she asked ChatGPT what to do after her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Bambi, bit another child at nursery. The timing mattered: she had an ice cream outing planned for later that day and wasn’t sure whether cancelling it would be the right call.
Hague said she knew it would be controversial to consult a chatbot. Her sister, Zoe, had already advised against the treat. But she wanted a second view on what would actually teach a toddler the right lesson. She described the AI’s guidance as “really, really incredible.”
The bot’s advice was simple and, to many parents, familiar: at that age, consequences need to be immediate and clearly linked to the behavior. If the bite happened in the morning and the treat was hours away, a cancelled ice cream might feel random to a toddler, not connected to what went wrong at nursery. The suggestion: address the biting as soon as possible, keep it clear and calm, and avoid punishments that land long after the moment has passed.
That’s roughly in line with common early-years practice. Toddlers have short memories for cause and effect. Guidance from child development professionals typically stresses immediate feedback, short and concrete consequences, and simple language: “No biting. Biting hurts.” Then, reset and move on.
Hague’s post drew a split reaction. Some parents thanked her for being honest about a situation nearly everyone faces at some point. Others rolled their eyes at the idea of outsourcing parenting basics to a bot. Hague, who has weathered online storms before, said she expected the pushback.
AI meets parenting: useful tool or risky shortcut?
Parents are under pressure. Childcare costs are high, appointments can be hard to get, and advice online is a maze. It’s no surprise many reach for tools that are free, fast, and always awake. AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, have become another voice in the mix—like a search engine that talks back.
There are upsides. A chatbot can give a quick, nonjudgmental script to try: how to label a feeling, how to explain “we use teeth for food, not people,” and how to help a child make amends. It can offer reminders about common triggers for biting—frustration, teething, tiredness, overexcitement—and suggest ways to prevent a repeat. It can help parents think through what to say to a nursery or another family.
But there are also clear limits. AI doesn’t know your child, your home, or what else is going on that day. It can miss context that a health visitor, pediatrician, or nursery key worker would spot in seconds. And like any large language model, it can be confidently wrong. That’s why most child development experts say AI can be a starting point—never the last word.
Professionals also warn about relying on technology when what a child needs is your presence. Repairing a moment after biting—comforting the other child, guiding your own child to understand what happened, helping them try again—is about human connection and calm, not an answer from a screen. For ongoing concerns or repeated incidents, a real conversation with a professional matters.
Privacy is another issue. Putting detailed personal information about a child into a chatbot is rarely wise. Parents are better off keeping prompts general and avoiding names, places, or anything that identifies a child or another family.
So what actually works for toddlers who bite? The basics haven’t changed:
- Respond right away. Short, calm correction: “No biting. Biting hurts.”
- Comfort the child who was bitten and model repair. If age-appropriate, help your child check on them.
- Teach and practice alternatives. Offer words (“I’m mad”), a signal for help, or a chewy toy if teething is the issue.
- Watch patterns. Note times, settings, and triggers—tired, hungry, crowded rooms—so you can adjust routines.
- Reinforce the behavior you want. Praise gentle hands and successful moments, not just the missteps.
Nurseries usually have a behavior policy for biting because it’s common around age two. They’ll often “shadow” a child for a while, coach them in using words or gestures, and keep parents in the loop. If biting ramps up, or if there are concerns about speech delays, sensory needs, or social communication, it’s worth asking for a referral or extra support.
Hague’s post also highlights a broader shift: influencers are increasingly open about using AI for everyday calls, not just work. That transparency invites debate about what we want from technology in family life. Do we want AI to help brainstorm, or do we risk numbing our instincts if we consult it too often?
For parents who choose to use AI, a few guardrails help:
- Use it for ideas, not diagnoses. Treat suggestions as drafts you can tailor.
- Keep prompts general. Don’t share names, locations, or detailed personal histories.
- Cross-check with trusted sources. If the advice is new to you, compare it with guidance from your nursery or pediatric professional.
- Prioritize safety and wellbeing. If there’s injury, ongoing aggression, or something feels off, seek human help.
- Loop in caregivers. Consistency between home and nursery makes any strategy more effective.
- Watch results. If a tactic isn’t working after a fair try, pivot—don’t force it because a bot said so.
Critics of AI in parenting argue that tools can create false confidence. A smooth answer can feel right even when it isn’t right for your child. Supporters counter that parents have always gathered tips—from books, forums, relatives—and AI is just the newest shelf in that library.
Both can be true. The best outcomes come when parents mix information with observation: what actually calms your child, what sets them off, what the nursery is seeing, and how your family values line up with a response. A chatbot can’t glue those parts together. You can.
Real-world support remains available and free in the UK. Health visitors, GPs, and NHS resources can help with behavior questions and development checks. Charitable organizations, including Family Lives, offer guidance to parents who want to talk through a plan with a human. And your child’s nursery can share what’s typical in their setting and which strategies fit your child’s day.
Hague didn’t claim AI solved parenting. She said it helped her think through a tricky moment. The conversation her post sparked is the real story: where technology fits in the small, high-stakes choices parents make every day—and where it shouldn’t.
