Latest news with #LilianSchmidt
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
A mom has gone viral for using ChatGPT to co-parent her kid: ‘I feel like I'm cheating'
It takes a village — and ChatGPT — to raise a child nowadays. A Swiss mom has gone viral on TikTok for using ChatGPT as a third co-parent in raising her 3-year-old daughter. Currently living in Zurich, Switzerland, 33-year-old Lilian Schmidt says she uses AI for everything from creative meal planning and writing grocery lists to handling toddler tantrums, as well as her own emotions. 'I feel like I'm cheating at mom life,' she wrote in one TikTok, claiming ChatGPT did all the heavy lifting that day so that she could enjoy an iced coffee and a lake trip with her daughter. Schmidt also appeared on Good Morning America on Monday and said she struggled with sleep training her daughter, initially seeking advice from friends and her pediatrician. However, after trying ChatGPT on a friend's recommendation, she found it helpful and saw improvement. 'It gives me the mental space for what I should focus on because, at the end of the day, when I'm old and my kids are adults, they will remember me for actually being there with them in the moment, enjoying them, sharing special moments with them,' Schmidt told the outlet. The turn to AI comes as 60 percent of US adults say they feel burnt out by their current jobs. Schmidt, a corporate brand strategist, says she has a partner who 'does his fair share,' in raising their daughter as well as his 14-year-old son, but finds AI especially helpful in her duties. 'Our brains work differently. He's a doer and takes on the planning,' Schmidt told SWNS. 'I do the thinking. That mental load falls on me.' Schmidt recommends asking AI to take on an expert role, like a nutritionist, for creating kid-friendly meal plans, but cautions users to avoid sharing sensitive information about their family. Parenting expert Ericka Sóuter emphasized that AI provides a helpful 'head start on brainstorming.' Sóuter, the author of How to Have a Kid and a Life: A Survival Guide, told GMA co-anchor George Stephanopoulos that ChatGPT can be a helpful aid to parents by generating lunchbox and dinner ideas based on the ingredients already in their pantry, eliminating the mental load of meal planning. AI can also help design birthday invitations, create personalized bedtime stories that include a child's favorite toy or name, and even provide scripts for age-appropriate conversations, such as explaining the death of a pet, Sóuter said. It could also be a great resource for school project ideas, giving parents and children a creative boost when tackling science fairs or social studies assignments. However, Sóuter warned parents that AI shouldn't be a replacement for their intuition and that they should always fact-check the provided information. 'You want to avoid over-reliance on it,' she told Stephanopoulos. 'We see a lot of people using it and then they lose confidence in their own choices, and we don't want to do that.' 'Lastly, you have to be careful for privacy,' Sóuter continued. 'You don't want to put in too much about your family or your kids because we don't know where that information will end up. This is still a new technology with emerging guard rails.' Solve the daily Crossword
Fast Company
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
This mom went viral for co-parenting with ChatGPT. Thousands are following her lead
Ask any parent and they'll tell you that the laundry list of daily tasks is relentless. Now, some are turning to a new kind of support system: artificial intelligence. One mom has recently gone viral on TikTok for 'co-parenting' her child with the help of ChatGPT. Lilian Schmidt, a corporate brand strategist based in Zurich, Switzerland, began sharing her AI prompts earlier this year. Since then, she's built a community of over 21,000 followers who swear by her tips for navigating the highs and lows of parenthood. Schmidt has a partner, but with both working full-time, she found herself increasingly burnt out by the mental load of parenting their three-year-old. So she turned to ChatGPT. Whether it's generating imaginative bedtime stories, creating cleaning schedules, offering advice on sleep regressions, or planning meals based on what's in the fridge, the AI helped her offload the logistics of parenting—freeing her up to simply be present with her daughter. 'I feel like I'm cheating at mom life,' she wrote in one post. @heylilianschmidt If this is your vibe, I wanna be friends! 🫶 And if you want this kind of life, but don't know how or where to start – 💬 COMMENT 'life' and I'll give you 7 of my best ChatGPT prompts to get you started! 🫶 #livingourbestlife #motheranddaughter #momlifevibes #sahmtok #toddlermoms #chatgpt #chatgptformoms ♬ As It Was – Harry Styles Parental stress, the U.S. Surgeon General warned earlier this year, is a public health crisis. Parents are consistently more likely than other adults to report high levels of stress, so it's no surprise that many are seeking creative solutions to manage the load. 'ChatGPT literally helped me with breastfeeding, and how to decorate my daughter birthday cake,' one commenter wrote under Schmidt's video. 'Chat gpt is carrying the weight of my family at this point,' another added. @heylilianschmidt HERE'S EXACTLY HOW I GOT HERE👇 This is the version of mom life I used to think was impossible. I took me 3 years to get here, because nothing worked: 🚫 Waking up before the kids 🚫 Ruthless declutterring 🚫 Having a new routine Whatever I tried, the mental load was still there – stressing me out and preventing me from being fully present with my kids and enjoying our little life 😢 Until I thought: what if someone (or something) could carry the mental load FOR me? I started playing around with ChatGPT – and it didn't just become a tool. It became my mom assistant, my co-parent, my second brain when mine's filled with cotton candy and empty batteries 🪫 Wanna try and see for yourself? 🎁 COMMENT 'prompts' to get my free AI Mom Magic Starter Kit with 7 ChatGPT prompts I use every single week to save time, stay sane, and make everyday life feel more ✨magical✨ (or grab it straight from my bio!) Your motherhood gets to feel like this, too 🫶 #wokeuplikethis #morningroutine #toddlermom #mentalload #chatgpt #chatgptformoms #momhacks ♬ inside out theme – Santiago Melo With 2.5 billion prompts made every day in ChatGPT, according to a recent Axios scoop, each day users are coming up with new ways AI can slot into their daily lives, from therapist, to stylist, to co-parent. But not everyone is on board with AI-assisted parenting. 'Is it just me, or is it a problem that women feel relief turning to AI instead of their partners?' one commenter asked. Others raised concerns about the environmental cost of AI, and what that might mean for the next generation.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Moms are calling this AI tool a ‘lifesaver' for the mental load they carry every day
From meal planning to daycare checklists, one mom's creative use of ChatGPT is giving exhausted parents everywhere a reason to exhale. When Lilian Schmidt hit her breaking point, it wasn't because of one big thing—it was the accumulation of everything. The German mom of two, living in Switzerland, was managing the morning chaos, a full-time job, overstimulated daycare pickups, and a running list of invisible tasks. She felt alone in the mental load, even though she had a supportive partner. 'It's not that I have to carry everything alone, but I still often feel that way,' Schmidt told Newsweek. 'Even if my partner and I try to split things 50/50, our brains just work differently.' So she turned to something unexpected: ChatGPT. In a now-viral TikTok that's been viewed more than 710,000 times, Schmidt (@heylilianschmidt) explained how she's using AI as an emotional and logistical support system—what some commenters called a 'co-parent,' 'therapist,' and even 'doula.' For Schmidt, the mental load wasn't just about remembering daycare pickup. It was about planning, anticipating, emotionally regulating, and making a thousand tiny decisions every single day. So she started giving those tasks to ChatGPT. Now, it: Plans a full week of meals her kids will actually eat Writes grocery lists Suggests age-appropriate birthday gifts Creates daycare and travel packing checklists Offers calm, thought-out responses when she's emotionally overwhelmed 'When I'm overwhelmed with so much to get done with work and the kids and house etc I list it all out and ask chat to help me be sat on the sofa by x time or in bed by x time. It gives me a full timed to-do list and it works every time,' shared user @ Related: The 'mental health walk' that wasn't: this mom's viral tiktok is our collective parenting nightmare Schmidt was clear that her partner is an active parent—not only to their 3-year-old but also as the primary caregiver for his 14-year-old son. But even in egalitarian households, the default parent role—and the cognitive load that comes with it—often falls to moms. Research shows that moms carry a significantly heavier share of the mental load at home. A 2023 brief from the Council on Contemporary Families found that partnered mothers spend more than twice as much time as fathers on cognitive labor—things like planning, organizing, and keeping track of family needs. That imbalance isn't just frustrating—it's linked to increased stress, burnout, and lower overall well-being for moms. That's why tools like ChatGPT, when used intentionally, can offer more than convenience. They offer clarity, relief, and the feeling of not carrying everything alone. The comments on Schmidt's video tell the story of a much bigger shift. Parents aren't just looking for productivity—they're desperate for emotional relief. @bridget provençalkitchen shared, 'I prompt it to create a recipe with what is left in the fridge. I think it helps with the mental load.' @cks wrote, 'I gave it background on my baby's sleep and it tracked it over a few days then told it to act like a sleep consultant and it tells me what to do for naps etc xx' @confidentsimone added, 'It helped me since two weeks with our sleep regression for our 18 months old' 'It's my sparring partner when I need to make a decision; my research assistant when I don't have three hours to scroll through Google; and my emotional buffer when I'm about to overthink something,' Schmidt shared. She emphasizes it's not about becoming more efficient. 'It's about doing the same things faster and with help,' she told Newsweek. 'My life has gotten 10 times easier and, for the first time in a long time, I feel like I have space to breathe.' Curious what moms are asking ChatGPT? We asked—and the responses were great: @ashm15: 'Baby sleep schedule and tips. Acitvities to do with baby at home.' @ 'Make signs for party. Find activities for kids. Meal ideas. Help with mental load.' @mqu2487: 'It walked me through secondary infertility. Mental support, and understanding results.' @lastjenks: 'Yes! For my infant – Wake windows, when to feed, goals for daytime/nighttime sleep.' Related: Dad took stroller walks to cope—what happened next sparked a movement for struggling fathers If you're curious but hesitant, there are simple ways to ease into using ChatGPT for everyday parenting stress. You can start by asking it to create a weeknight dinner plan that factors in leftovers and picky eaters. It can help generate packing checklists for daycare, suggest rainy day activities for toddlers, or draft a respectful message to reschedule a work meeting around a pediatric appointment. This isn't about outsourcing your role—it's about having support for the mental load that comes with it. What makes Schmidt's story stand out isn't the novelty of using AI. It's the honesty about what it feels like to be maxed out and still expected to remember sunscreen, RSVP to birthday parties, and stay calm through tantrums. In a world where moms are told to lean in, do more, and 'just get organized,' Schmidt's approach offers something gentler. A moment of space. A sense of support. A reason to exhale. And with more than 710,000 moms watching—and relating—it's clear she's not alone.
