Matilda
School and study · explains the why
Free lesson: Quiz Me, a study app
Know why it works, and you can build anything.
Ages 13-17 · short video lessons · for parents
A first phone comes with rules. A first AI should too.
Watch your teen go from AI user to AI builder. In 8 short lessons inside a Lab made for teens, they build and publish an app with its own web link. Every request is checked for personal details before it reaches the AI, and lesson 3 is a safety check you do together. No coding needed.
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Free · parent email only · no card
64% of teens use AI chatbots. Only about half of parents know. Pew Research Center, 2026
- Parents sign up. We never ask for your teen's name.
- Only AI tools whose terms allow teens
- Video lessons. No live classes, no chat with strangers.
What the numbers say
- 57%of US parents think AI will make it harder for their children to find jobs.Common Sense Media survey, March 2026, via Education Week
- No. 1AI and big data top employers' list of fastest-growing skills through 2030.World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report, January 2025
- 7 in 10companies call analytical thinking essential, still the core skill employers want most.World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report, January 2025
Nobody can say which jobs will exist when your teen is 30, and we won't pretend to. The lessons work on the two skills in that list: building with AI, and thinking through what it made. Your teen builds an app, publishes it and explains how it works.
How it works
Watch a 3-5 minute lessonOne idea per lesson, shown on screen.
Build one small piece in their own appEvery lesson ends with a task they do themselves.
You see what they publishEach time they publish an app, you get an email with its link and a button to take it down.
What they end up with
A link they can open on a phone and show you. Here are three small apps of the kind they build:
Study appmade by our team 
Number gamemade by our team 
Club pagemade by our team
Who did the thinking?
It is the first question a lot of parents ask, so the lessons are built around it: your teen builds the app and explains it. The AI writes code when asked. Your teen decides what the app should do, and checks that it does it.
What your teen does
- Picks the problem and plans the app
- Asks for one change at a time
- Tests it on a phone and fixes what breaks
- Decides what stays and what goes
What the AI does
- Suggests code for each request
- Explains a part when they ask
It's their own project, not homework.
Guardrails built in, set up by parents
Privacy
- Only a parent or guardian signs up and buys. We do not ask for your teen's name, age or school.
- Your teen builds in our Lab, made for ages 13-17. Every request is checked for personal details before it goes to the AI.
- Nothing personal goes into the app. Lesson 3 is a safety check you do together before it goes live.
Screen time
- Each lesson is 3-5 minutes of video, then a task in their own app: about 30 minutes of video for the whole Starter.
- No live classes and no chat with strangers: in the Lab your teen talks only to the AI, and you get an email each time they publish an app.
- Matilda, the instructor, appears only in the videos. She never chats with your teen.
Built around where beginners get stuck
Each lesson solves one common wall and ends with a small task in their own app.
- 1. Shrink the idea. A small, real problem, planned on a 5-line card.
- 2. Talk to AI like a builder. Clear requests, one change at a time, until version one works.
- 3. Check before sharing. A safety check with you, then the app goes live on its own link.
- 4. Fix, don't restart. Describe the bug, read the error, fix one thing at a time.
- 5. Give the app a memory. It keeps a score or setting, and they can say where that lives.
- 6. Show it off, and own it. A 60-second video for the family and an authorship card.
- 7. Make it yours. Their own colors, easy-to-read text and one touch of their own, checked on a phone.
- 8. Add a second feature. Something new, tested against everything that already worked, then published.
Your teen's instructor
Matilda presents the free lesson and the Starter course in short videos.
Why not just use a chatbot?
A chatbot on its own can help a lot. Here is what the lessons add.
| A chatbot on its own | Teen AI Builders | |
|---|---|---|
| Order | Your teen decides what to ask, and when | Eight lessons, in an order that builds one app |
| Getting stuck | Errors often end in starting over | Each lesson covers a place where beginners stall |
| Safety | Each tool's age rules are yours to check | Our Lab, made for ages 13-17 |
| Your view | You see what they choose to show | An email each time they publish an app |
What it costs
Step 1: the free lesson, no card. Step 2, only if you want it:
Starter course · taught by Matilda
US$19 once
About US$2.40 a lesson · no subscription · full refund within 5 days
- 8 short lessons, from zero to a published app
- An email to you each time your teen publishes an app
Full course
US$59 once
About US$2 a lesson · no subscription · full refund within 5 days
- 29 lessons: the 8 Starter lessons, then 21 more
- Four more apps: a study app, a game, a personal page and a project of their own, each with its own link
- An email to you each time your teen publishes an app
Already have the Starter? The full course costs you only the difference (US$40).
Who's behind this
Teen AI Builders is a small team that builds apps with AI. We plan each lesson and build every example app on this page ourselves.
Questions before you sign up? Email us at [email protected].
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We email you a link to confirm your address. The free lesson arrives right after you confirm your email.
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Thank you. Your answers help us decide what to teach next.
Questions parents ask
Is the free lesson really free?
Yes. No card and no trial that turns into a payment. You give a parent email, confirm it, and the lesson opens. The Starter course is a separate purchase, only if you want it.
Is this cheating?
Not when it's their own project. The lessons are about building something of their own, not schoolwork. They finish with an authorship card that says what they did and what the AI did. If their school has rules about AI, those still apply to schoolwork.
Can't they just use a chatbot?
They can, and many already do. The lessons add an order to follow, help at the usual sticking points and an email to you each time they publish an app. They run in our Lab, in the browser: nothing to install and no account for your teen.
What if my teen isn't into coding?
They don't write code from scratch. Most teens pick an app tied to something they already like: a game, a study tool, a page for a club. The free lesson is a quick way to find out if it clicks.
How involved do I need to be?
Not much. You do one safety check together in Lesson 3. When they publish an app, you get an email with its link and a button to take it down. The rest they do on their own.
Does my teen need to know how to code?
No. They describe what they want in plain English and use AI tools to build it. They learn how apps fit together along the way.
What does my teen need?
A laptop or desktop computer with a recent browser. A phone or tablet is not enough to build.
Which AI tools do you use?
One AI, inside our Lab. Your teen doesn't sign up with any AI company. Before a request goes to the AI, the Lab looks for personal details and holds back the requests where it finds them. The lessons also teach your teen never to type them. The privacy notice names the provider and what it keeps.
How long does it take?
The free lesson takes about 20 minutes in the Lab: short videos with Matilda, and they build as they go. Starter lessons are 3-5 minutes of video each, plus the task at the end: about 30 minutes of video for all 8. Your teen goes at their own pace.
How will I know they are making progress?
Each time they publish an app, you get an email with its link, so you can open what they built. Your parent page lists every app they've published. In Lesson 6 they record a 60-second video of their app.
Who makes the lessons?
A small team that builds apps with AI. Matilda presents the lessons in short videos in the Lab.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. Paid courses have a full refund within 5 days.
Can your teen build something with AI? Find out in about 20 minutes.
Get the free lesson
Free · parent email only · no card