It's cute and it costs about as much as a bedside table lamp. But it will help with homework, read books aloud, tell jokes, and much, much more.
It's the new Echo Dot for kids, and it's the solution to so many of your back-to-school questions that it's worth a lot more than that table lamp.
Also? It will turn the lights on and off, so you don't need to put a light within reach. And it's an alarm clock. And it's a phone.
Here are five reasons we think your child's room needs this cute, new Echo Dot for kids.
It's an easy intercom system.
$59.99
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If you have an Echo in the kitchen and the kids have Echo Dots in their rooms, you can announce dinner without shouting or banging on doors. In fact, you can announce dinner to everyone in the house all at once. It's also great for checking in to make sure kids are doing homework or getting ready for school — right from your desk or the living room.
It reads aloud.
Bedtime can be an ongoing battle. The Echo is on your team. If the kids want to get up, beg for one more story, or use every childish ruse in the book to avoid lights out, suggest they ask the Echo Dot to read a story. It doesn't care if it has read that story a million times. It's artificial intelligence.
Once you get a library of books set up and parental controls in place, the kids can just ask for something they love and listen to it over and over again. The Echo Dot Kids Edition comes with Amazon Kids+, which includes thousands of hours of kid-friendly Audible books, interactive games, and educational skills.
While they listen to some of that, you can get on with your evening.
It knows all the answers.
Kids have a million questions. The Amazon Echo has the patience to look up all the answers, whether they are wild mathematical homework-related or just curiosity seeking an easy answer.
Alexa is also happy to indulge in some games and joke telling. (And all her jokes are groan-worthy and juvenile, so kids love them.)
It's an alarm clock, timer, and reminder.
The Echo will wake the kids up in time for school by sounding an alarm or, if the kids get clever, with music, news, or a favorite story.
If they need a reminder to log into class, Alexa will keep track of the time and remind them when class is about to start.
And the timers are great for timeboxing homework. "Alexa, set a homework timer for 30 minutes!" No more staring at that math homework for hours. If you only have 30 minutes, might as well get it done!
It's a safe communication device.
Kids don't need a home phone or a cellphone to make calls to people on their approved list of callers. They can just ask Alexa to call Grandma, a friend, or you. You don't have to manage the hazards of a cellphone, pay for kids' lines, or worry that your kids can't call for help if they are stuck with their homework or bored.
The Echo is a terrific communication device that can call other Echo devices or place a call directly to a phone line.
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