Parenting Journal · Volume 1 · Issue 2 · Licensed source edition
Feasibility and acceptability of the MentiParent AI chatbot for training parental reflective functioning
Originally published 2026-04-16 · Scientific Reports
Nature Publishing Group · DOI 10.1038/s41598-026-47934-4 ↗
AI / system type
Generative AI/LLM parenting simulation
Direct parenting evidenceDirectly addresses parents or caregiving, including parent studies, syntheses and audits of parenting advice.
The AI connection
Generative MentiParent simulates child dialogue and offers reflective feedback.
Why this reading matters
Direct parenting application that tests acceptability with parents as well as professionals.
Editorial reading guide · Collaboration
Could a simulated conversation help me consider my child’s perspective before a difficult discussion?
Maps to Collaboration through reflective rehearsal of parent-child conversations, while preserving the distinction between simulation and real relationships.
Study context
60 practitioners/graduate students and 36 parents
Age / stage: Adult users; simulated child/adolescent scenarios
Read with three questions
- How do the virtual Danny and Evelyn scenarios differ from real child interaction?
- What did single-item feasibility and acceptability measures capture?
- What evidence is still needed for real-world reflective parenting improvement?
Keep the limits in view
Brief single-use simulations, self-report and no control group; neither sustained parental skill nor child outcomes were established.
The text below is the original article’s licensed repository edition. Its wording is not rewritten. Use the Paper Agent beside the text to locate evidence; open the source for figures, tables and complete context.
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Original authorship, publication date, journal and DOI are preserved. This issue’s TRICK placement and reading questions are editorial additions, not claims made by the original authors.
Karen Yirmiya; Elad Refoua; Alexandra Truscott; Hayley Reeve; Peter Fonagy; Zohar Elyoseph (2026). Feasibility and acceptability of the MentiParent AI chatbot for training parental reflective functioning Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47934-4
Permissions checked against the saved article notice; repository publication notices screened 2026-11-04. This is not a new peer-review decision. The source authors and publishers are not represented as endorsing this issue.