Future Skills for Children: What Matters in the Age of AI?

1 day ago

8 min read

Updated: 3 hours ago

There is one question I keep coming back to lately:

What do our children actually need to learn if machines can eventually know almost everything?

Not at some distant point in the future.

We are already right in the middle of it.

And for us as parents, that is a real challenge.

AI can write texts, translate languages, code, analyse data, create images and answer questions within seconds — questions that once required books, teachers or hours of research.

Our children will grow up in a world that we cannot yet fully imagine.

That can feel frightening.

For me, though, it mostly makes me curious.

Because maybe we need to start looking at education differently.

Maybe the question will become less about how much a person knows.

And much more about what a person can do with what they know — with themselves and with other people.

Knowledge isn’t disappearing. But knowledge alone is no longer enough.

Of course children will still need to learn how to read, write and do maths.

They will still need knowledge.

Because you can only question, evaluate and make sense of information if you understand something in the first place.

The OECD makes exactly this point in its 2026 AI Literacy Framework: AI literacy is not simply about knowing how to use an AI tool. Young people need to understand how these systems work, evaluate their outputs critically and use technology responsibly and creatively. OECD

So the big shift is not that knowledge suddenly becomes irrelevant.

It is that simply being able to retrieve knowledge will no longer be enough.

A machine can give me twenty possible answers within seconds.

But it cannot remove my responsibility for which one I choose.

And to me, that is where education for the future really begins.

The most important future skills start surprisingly early

When we talk about future skills, it is easy to picture coding classes, tablets and digital education.

But many of the abilities children will need later begin developing long before they can even read.

The OECD increasingly describes abilities such as executive function, self-regulation, metacognition and social-emotional skills as foundations for learning — abilities that shape how children learn, manage emotions and interact with other people.

Put more simply:

A child who tries to find their own solution, who starts again after something has gone wrong, who learns to wait, negotiate, develop an idea, ask questions, observe, work through a conflict with another child or stay completely absorbed in something for twenty minutes is not “just playing”.

That child is building abilities that may become more important than ever before.

Maybe we should spend less time asking what machines can do

And more time asking:

What are humans especially good at?

The World Economic Forum described the challenge in a very similar way in 2026: education needs to benefit from AI without sacrificing cognitive development, trust and human connection. World Economic Forum

That idea stays with me.

Because I do not believe we need to raise our children against AI.

AI will simply be part of their world.

But I also do not believe the answer is to introduce children to technology earlier and earlier, or to start optimising them for some future labour market while they are still tiny.

I think our task is different.

We need to strengthen what makes them human.

Their creativity, curiosity, empathy, judgement, courage, sense of responsibility and ability to adapt.

Their ability to build relationships, form their own opinions and enter unfamiliar situations without always waiting for someone else to tell them what to do.

This is exactly why I believe so strongly in free play

At first, it may sound almost contradictory.

We are talking about artificial intelligence and the future of our children — and my answer is:

Let them play.

But the more I think about it, the less contradictory it feels.

In free play, there is no pre-programmed solution.

The child has to figure things out.

What do I want to do?

What works?

What doesn’t?

What could I change?

How do I move forward?

What happens if another child wants something completely different?

That openness is incredibly valuable to me.

Our children’s future will almost certainly contain situations for which no ready-made instructions exist yet.

And in those moments, memorising every “correct” answer will not be enough.

They will need to have learned how to deal with not knowing.

Children themselves are already recognising the risk

I found UNICEF’s current work on this especially interesting.

UNICEF has been speaking with children and young people about the abilities they believe matter in an AI-shaped world. Alongside curiosity and optimism, concerns about becoming too dependent on AI also emerge, as does the importance of transferable skills that help young people navigate an uncertain future. UNICEF Global

That says a lot.

Because perhaps one of the most important abilities of the next generation will be knowing how to use technology without handing over their own thinking to it.

In simple terms:

AI can help me. But I can still evaluate, question, decide and take responsibility.

This is not an anti-technology mission

Quite the opposite.

I find AI fascinating, and I spend a lot of time exploring it myself.

It can make knowledge more accessible, remove barriers, support creativity and take over tasks that used to consume huge amounts of our time.

But precisely because of that, the person behind the technology becomes even more important.

Who makes the decision and accepts responsibility?

Who notices when something is wrong?

Who asks the right question and understands the context?

Who still sees the human being on the other side?

The World Economic Forum similarly argues that AI in education needs to support innovation while safeguarding cognitive development, trust and human connection. World Economic Forum

And that is what I want for our children.

Not less technology.

More humanity alongside it.

This is why I started Raising Future Humans

Over the past few months, these thoughts have grown into something bigger for me.

Raising Future Humans.

Not a manual for one correct way to raise children in this era.

More a question that follows me every day:

How do we raise people who can not only cope with a world we cannot yet predict — but help shape it?

On my profile, I share very personal thoughts and experiences.

Things I am questioning myself.

My own journey as a mother, founder and human being.

And sometimes questions I still have no answer to.

Because that is exactly the point.

I do not want to pretend that our generation has already figured out how to prepare children for this new world.

We haven’t.

We are learning together.

Maybe this is the real task of our generation

Our children will use technologies we do not yet know.

They may work in jobs that do not exist today.

And they will have to solve problems for which we cannot leave them a ready-made answer.

Maybe we can give them something more valuable instead:

the ability to find their own solutions.

To stay curious.

To think critically and deeply.

To understand their own emotions and those of other people.

To question what they are told.

To work with others.

To fail and begin again.

To change without losing themselves.

And to see other people not as competitors, users or data points, but as human beings.

Because no matter how intelligent machines become:

Humanity is not an outdated skill.

Maybe that is exactly why it will become one of our most important ones.

And that is what both Baby Bee and Raising Future Humans are about for me.

Not optimising children for one particular version of the future.

But giving them experiences today that may one day allow them to say:

I can think. I can decide. I can adapt. I can create something with other people. And I trust myself to find my own way.

That is what future readiness means to me.

Not perfect preparation for a world nobody can predict.

But becoming a person who has learned how to navigate the unknown.

Frequently Asked Questions About Future Skills for Children

What are future skills for children?

Future skills are abilities that help children navigate a world increasingly shaped by AI and rapid change. They include critical thinking, creativity, self-regulation, social and emotional skills, judgement and the ability to deal with uncertainty.

Do children still need to learn facts and knowledge?

Absolutely. Reading, writing, maths and subject knowledge remain essential foundations. Children need understanding in order to evaluate information, recognise mistakes and critically assess AI-generated answers. The OECD’s 2026 AI Literacy Framework makes this distinction very clearly. OECD

When do future skills begin to develop?

Much earlier than many people think. Skills such as self-regulation, executive function, social-emotional competence and learning how to learn begin developing in early childhood. Children practise them when they search for their own solutions, negotiate with others, wait, persist and try again after something has not worked.

Should young children be introduced to AI and tablets early?

That is not how we see it.

AI will be part of our children’s world, and they will learn how to use it.

In the early years, we believe it is more important to strengthen the foundations underneath that future technology use: curiosity, judgement, creativity, courage, self-regulation and the ability to build real relationships.

Keep Reading at Baby Bee

FOLLOW THE JOURNEY

The Baby Bee play spaces have become much more than wonderful places to play — and not only for me.

Creating spaces for free development, real connection and conscious family life has become part of a much bigger question that occupies more and more of my thinking:

How do we raise people who can not only navigate our world, but help make it more human?

People who choose connection over division. Who can recognise what we share without pretending our differences do not exist. Who see diversity as a strength rather than a threat. Who think, question and take responsibility while still remaining open to perspectives beyond their own.

With Raising Future Humans, I am still very much at the beginning of that journey myself.

Over the coming years, I want to explore these questions more deeply, bring different perspectives together and give a voice to people who have something meaningful to add — experts, inspiring personalities, families and people whose stories we can learn from.

Eventually, I hope it becomes even more: conversations, interviews, perhaps a podcast — and above all a space to keep asking:

What does childhood need today so that strong, open and connected human beings can grow from it tomorrow?

If these questions resonate with you, I would love for you to connect with me.

On Instagram at @raising.future.humans, I share thoughts on childhood, the future and humanity, as well as personal glimpses into my own journey as a mother, founder and human being.

This is only the beginning.

Author: Jenna Witt - Founder of Baby Bee Spielraum & Raising Future Humans