(BPT) - With the demands of work, school, home, and everything else on your family's to-do list, you may wish you had more tools to streamline daily routines and keep kids on track. Fortunately, the latest technology offers easy-to-use, safe, and fun ways to empower kids to take ownership of their routines, from getting ready in the morning to bedtime - and everything in between.
How can you help kids get their homework done, answer their thousands of questions, and provide plenty of educational content and entertainment? Here are two great options that can not only make your life easier but put more control of your child's world into their own hands (and voice).
Kids can ask Alexa
Echo Dot Kids is Amazon's smart speaker with Alexa, made just for kids. And while the device is made with your little one in mind, it also comes with easy-to-use parental controls so you can set daily time limits, filter content, and review activity in the Amazon Parent Dashboard. The kid-friendly models come in a tiger or panda print and bring interactive games, homework help, assistance with daily routines, reminders, and more into your kids' control with just their voice.
With features like Bedtime Stories, which allows kids to listen to narrated stories, this device can help make the nighttime routine even easier. When it's time to get some shut eye, you can turn on Sleep Sounds to help them fall asleep faster too. In the morning, kids can even set their own alarm to get their day started and wake up entertained with character alarms from Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network.
When it comes to homework, you can help children be independent with homework help on demand and can get time back by using Alexa for reminders to get ready for school or work on assignments. Kids can ask questions ("Alexa, how do you spell …?" or "How tall is Mount Everest?"), practice learning with Amazon Math, listen to jokes and fun facts, and even call approved friends or family members.
"These devices can make a huge difference in smoothing over family routines," said Catherine Teitelbaum, Head of Amazon Family Trust. "With Alexa helping your kids to take more ownership of their homework independently, they are also learning to be more self-sufficient."
A new feature, Reading Sidekick, can help kids build fluency and foster a love for reading. Simply say, "Alexa, let's read," and Alexa will take turns reading with your child, providing encouragement when they're reading well and offering support when they struggle.
Show me the entertainment
Echo Show 5 Kids is an Alexa-enabled smart display designed just for kids. This device gives you all the great features of Echo Dot Kids, but also comes with an interactive display for even more functionality and fun. Built for entertainment, education, and connection, the all-new Echo Show 5 Kids comes in a fun Chameleon design that fits into the coolest of kids' rooms. Kids can easily personalize the home screen with colorful, kid-friendly clock themes or make video calls to pre-approved contacts. Plus, similar to Echo Dot Kids, children can also ask Alexa for homework help and set alarms to wake up to the voice of their favorite character.
Echo Show 5 Kids and Echo Dot Kids include a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+, giving families access to thousands of ad-free apps, books, games, videos, Audible books, and songs, across compatible devices. With Echo Show 5 Kids, the subscription even provides access to kid-friendly educational content, movies, and shows. Children can have dance parties to their favorite music, learn while having fun with Alexa Skills like Lemonade Stand, Name that Animal, and more. Some of the most popular content across Kids Echo devices from Amazon Kids+ includes: Disney Stories, Animal Workout, Would You Rather for Kids, Amazon Math, Travel Quest, and Freeze Dancers.
And for parents who already have an Echo device in their home, setting up Alexa voice profiles for kids ensures Alexa will always answer in a kid-friendly way. When Alexa hears a child's voice, she'll automatically shift to the kids profile, extending the children's experience and parental controls to any Echo device in the home.
This new line-up of Echo devices:
- Feature new designs, enhanced audio, and more powerful hardware and experiences to make Alexa even smarter, more engaging, and more helpful
- Are built with multiple layers of privacy controls, including a mic/camera off button and a built-in camera shutter
- Are Climate Pledge Friendly, built with recycled materials and will support Low Power Mode for energy savings
- Includes a 2-year worry-free device guarantee-if it breaks, return it and we'll replace it for free
Learn more at Amazon.com.