At 10:47 p.m. on a Tuesday, I was sitting on the floor outside my toddler's bedroom, so exhausted I could barely think. Then I did something that would have seemed absurd to me a year ago, Jamie Stockwell writes.

• I opened ChatGPT and typed: "I don't think I can put into words how much I love my children. They are truly my everything. But bedtime is breaking me."

😵‍💫 That night, in that moment of desperation, I didn't turn to parenting forums or to yet another expensive sleep-training program. I turned to AI, and it worked.

🤖 Why it matters: I'm far from alone in using AI for deeply personal problems. 1 in 6 people worldwide now use LLMs, according to research from the Microsoft AI Economy Institute.

• About 1 in 6 adults in the U.S. rely on AI daily for health advice, work scripts, emotional steadiness and logistics.

😴 The backstory: My 14-month-old was waking every 60 to 90 minutes, needing to be comforted. Separation anxiety turned bedtime into a marathon of tears.

• And my preschooler had mastered the bedtime filibuster — more stories, more snacks, more anything — pushing bedtime as late as 10:30.

I was sleep-deprived, hopeless, and too tired to read another parenting book that promised answers ... but never quite fit our chaos.

🛟 What I got from a bot wasn't a checklist. It was a calm, steady presence coaching me through bedtime in real time, the way a seasoned sleep consultant might — if one lived in my house.

• I was skeptical. I described our nights in detail and expected generic advice: warm baths, healthy snacks, short books. We were already doing all of that — it wasn't working.

Instead, ChatGPT responded: "I've got you. Let me give you a clear, compassionate starting framework, tailored to your style and to what's already worked for your family, while also honoring [your children's] temperament."

💤 What happened: What I got was a customized, seven-day sleep plan — and real-time help when everything fell apart at 3 a.m.

😬 Night 3: My toddler refused to lie down for 45 minutes. I asked what to do. ChatGPT coached me through staying calm and being consistent.

• "​​If he stands up 100 times, you guide him down 101 times. No emotion. No frustration. This teaches the boundary without fear."

🌪️ Night 5: My preschooler melted down, screaming for another book. Again, real-time guidance: "This… is the peak of the emotional storm. It feels awful, but it is not danger, and it is not a sign the plan is wrong."

• I was given an exact script for holding the boundary while staying present.

🎉 Night 7: Both kids were asleep by 8:30 p.m. I nearly cried with relief.

Between the lines: My son started sleeping through the night for the first time in months. My daughter accepted our new routine: "one snack, two books, one song."

🌱 The big picture: Boundaries feel impossible when your child is screaming, and you're sleep-deprived and barely thinking clearly.

• This wasn't about outsourcing parenting. It was about getting the exact help I needed, in the moment I needed it, without judgment or shame.

🫶 The bottom line: My kids are sleeping. We have routines. I have my sanity back. And I got that help from generative AI.

AI won't replace love or tenderness or the messy (but oh so rewarding!) work of raising small humans.

• But it can help parents feel calmer, more prepared and more capable along the way.

From editor Shane Savitsky, an Axios OG and forever Scranton: a view from the vineyards back in October over Weissenkirchen and the Danube in Austria's most beloved wine region, the Wachau Valley.