# Exploring Parent's Needs for Children-Centered AI to Support Preschoolers' Interactive Storytelling and Reading Activities

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.13804 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.13804/

## Key facts

- Cited by 8 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 24 Jan 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Multi-Agent-as-Judge: Aligning LLM-Agent-Based Automated Evaluation with Multi-Dimensional Human Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.21028/) (2025)
- [Biased Tales: Cultural and Topic Bias in Generating Children's Stories](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.07908/) (2025)
- [Towards Aligning Multimodal LLMs with Human Experts: A Focus on Parent-Child Interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.04366/) (2025)
- [Once Upon an AI: Six Scaffolds for Child-AI Interaction Design, Inspired by Disney](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.08670/) (2025)
- [Human-AI Alignment of Multimodal Large Language Models with Speech-Language Pathologists in Parent-Child Interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.05879/) (2025)
- [Tinker Tales: A Tangible Dialogue System for Child-AI Co-Creative Storytelling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.04109/) (2026)
- [Children's English Reading Story Generation via Supervised Fine-Tuning of Compact LLMs with Controllable Difficulty and Safety](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.13709/) (2026)
- [Understanding Parents' Complex Views of AI for Children's Pretend Play](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.39906/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Interactive storytelling is vital for preschooler development. While children's interactive partners have traditionally been their parents and teachers, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked a surge of AI-based storytelling and reading technologies. As these technologies become increasingly ubiquitous in preschoolers' lives, questions arise regarding how they function in practical storytelling and reading scenarios and, how parents, the most critical stakeholders, experience and perceive these technologies. This paper investigates these questions through a qualitative study with 17 parents of children aged 3-6. Our findings suggest that even though AI-based storytelling and reading technologies provide more immersive and engaging interaction, they still cannot meet parents' expectations due to a series of interactive and algorithmic challenges. We elaborate on these challenges and discuss the possible implications of future AI-based interactive storytelling technologies for preschoolers.