I mentioned in my Christmas Gift Guides that my boys were each getting an Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition for Christmas. The boys have been using their Alexa for several weeks already so today I am sharing our Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition Review.
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ECHO DOT KIDS EDITION REVIEW
If you have never heard of the original Echo, let me explain what it is. The Echo is a voice-controlled smart speaker. With just the sound of your voice, you can ask Alexa to play music, answer questions, check the weather, set alarms & timers, control smart home devices, drop-in to other Echo’s in the house, play games, and so much more!
I have found the Echo Dot really helpful because even though I can do a lot of those things with my phone, my hands are usually pretty full. Being able to ask Alexa to set a timer or play Baby Shark for my fussy baby without having to stop what I’m doing to get to my phone out is really, really convenient in this season of life.
So, the Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition is a smaller version of the original Echo that comes wrapped in a thick plastic case. The Kids Edition is obviously kid-friendly and plays only age-appropriate content. I love that in the app, through the Parent Dashboard, you can set a specific age range for your children.
The Kids Edition also comes with 1 year of FreeTime Unlimited and a 2-year warranty. FreeTime Unlimited lets parents set time limits, see recent activity, and gives the kids access to kid-friendly music, books, and other fun and educational content. I use the parent dashboard to set times that the boys are allowed to use Alexa (from 6:30 am until 7:30 pm during the week and from 8 am until 8 pm on the weekend) or I can shut it off completely if I need to. In the parent dashboard, I can also set a daily time limit, filter specific songs, and turn off voice shopping. No surprise packages showing up at our house!
Alexa has over 50,000 skills which are similar to apps. You can find new skills by browsing through the Alexa app the same way you would look for a new app on your tablet or phone. The skills can be enabled or disabled from the parent dashboard.
Some of my favorite skills are:
Toothbrush Timer: You can have Alexa set a timer for anything you want but one thing I absolutely love as a mom of younger kids is setting a timer for brushing teeth. The boys simply say “Alexa, set my toothbrush timer for 2 minutes.” and then they start brushing their teeth. I’m sure you aren’t surprised when I tell you this actually helps them brush longer and better than they typically do. Thanks, Alexa!
Alarm: I have tried so many things to get my boys to stay in bed longer in the morning. Blackout curtains, alarm clocks, special alarm clocks that light up certain colors at certain times. We have tried everything. But they always got out of bed super early before they were even really awake. Now, they just ask Alexa to set their alarm at night and they wait for her to wake them up in the morning! It has been amazing to see them have a little more sleep each day all because of the Echo Dot! Now that they are back in school after Christmas break, they are using the alarm skill to get themselves out of bed each morning.
Drop In: This is one of my favorite skills Alexa has. From my Dot in the kitchen, I can say “Alexa, drop in on Connor’s Echo” and it will start a two-way intercom. That way I can tell Connor his music is too loud or I need him to help me with something.
Announce: Use the announce skill to deliver a message to all the Echo’s in your house. For example, instead of yelling “Dinner’s ready!” over and over, simply ask Alexa “Alexa, announce dinner’s ready.” and the message will be heard over all the Echos in your house.
The skills the boys have been loving are:
Jokes: Have Alexa to tell you a joke.
Games: The boys have been playing so many games but have been especially loving these:
- Freeze Dance
- 20 questions
- Simon Says
- Would You Rather
- Name That Animal: Listen to 5 clues and name that animal.
- MasterSwords: This is essentially a spelling bee game. Connor LOVES this game so much. Defeat enemies by spelling words correctly.
- Watch Your Words: Try to guess one of the most popular answers to questions without saying a certain word. Ex: Name kids favorite fruit without saying the word banana
- Animal Workout: Alexa will call out different animals and explain how to move like that animal. She’ll also give different facts about the animal. Perfect for getting out some extra energy.
Kids Podcasts
Music/Dance Party
There are SO many more skills in the Alexa app. I know we’re just beginning to learn all of the cool things we can do with the Echo Dot Kids Edition.
We are really loving Alexa and since getting the Echo Dot for the kids and one for our kitchen I have decided I want one in most rooms in the house!
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!
Do you have an Echo at your house? What is your favorite skill Alexa has? Let me know in the comments how you use your Echo.
You can purchase the Echo Dot Kids Edition here.
Photos: Megan Higgins Photography
Love Alexa! We have 3 at home and one in my classroom. I love the daily Spanish lesson too! I will do some of these games in my classroom thanks for sharing. Another one we love is tell me a bedtime story.
Have you heard of Amazon look? I got these for my mother and sister in law. It has Alexa but it also takes your picture and offers suggestions about your look. It creates a lookbook for you and take you what looks better. They love it and now I need that too lol!