{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,20]],"date-time":"2026-06-20T21:29:01Z","timestamp":1781990941909,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,8]],"date-time":"2025-08-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754611200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Robot. AI"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Social robots are increasingly introduced into homes as short-term educational or entertainment tools for children. However, their physical presence and social roles may persist long after their intended use has ended. This study explores how families continue to engage with a child-focused educational robot years after its original deployment.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We conducted a retrospective follow-up study with 19 families who participated in a 2021 in-home deployment of a reading companion robot for preschool-aged children. In 2025, we revisited these families through in-depth interviews to investigate how the robot had been integrated, re-purposed, or preserved over time.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Despite the children outgrowing the robot\u2019s instructional content, 18 families had retained the robot. Families described transitions in its role\u2014from an educational device to a symbolic household member\u2014characterized by emotional attachment, care-taking behaviors, and affection. The robot was re-framed as a memory object, integrated into new routines, or passed on ceremonially, akin to a \u201cretirement.\u201d<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Our findings reveal three key themes explaining the robot\u2019s enduring presence: (1) emotional attachment and personification, (2) symbolic and nostalgic value, and (3) practical re-purposing within household routines. This study contributes to long-term human\u2014robot interaction literature by extending domestication theory and emphasizing the importance of designing for the full life cycle of social robots\u2014including end-of-life transitions. It underscores how social robots can become meaningful companions and enduring artifacts of family identity, long after their functional use has ended.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/frobt.2025.1628089","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,8]],"date-time":"2025-08-08T05:27:34Z","timestamp":1754630854000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["The robot that stayed: understanding how children and families engage with a retired social robot"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Zhao","family":"Zhao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rhonda","family":"McEwen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","first-page":"1","article-title":"On appropriation and nostalgic reminiscence of technology","volume-title":"Extended abstracts of the 2022 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI EA \u201922)","author":"Alizadeh","year":"2022"},{"key":"B2","first-page":"348","volume-title":"Sherry Turkle: alone together: why we expect more from technology and less from each other","author":"Arnd-Caddigan","year":"2015"},{"key":"B3","article-title":"40% of adults still sleep with a stuffed animal","author":"Bender","year":"2023"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1145\/3264901","article-title":"Understanding the long-term use of smart speaker assistants","volume":"2","author":"Bentley","year":"2018","journal-title":"Proc. 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