Alexa has also come in really useful for things like asking the weather, dropping in on my daughter to tell her to come down for tea and asking Alexa to tell us a random fact! It’s a little babyish for older children but the recent software update to existing Echo Dot, Echo and Echo Plus speakers means that you can get the same parental controls on the regular devices, too. You can lock them down to turn off at set times so we know for sure she can’t listen to it all night.

It will also have parental controls which allow adults to block things such as explicit lyrics on music streaming services, as well as set time limits to prevent children from "talking with Alexa late into the night".Alexa can help you get more out of the things you already love and discover new possibilities you've never imagined.

WHERE LEARNING MEETS FUN - Kids can ask Alexa to play music, read a bedtime story, get help with their homework and more. Alexa is a lot of fun in general use: to see what I mean, get a child to ask, “Alexa, what are your secrets? Most important to many parents are controls to limit the amount of time the Echo Dot can be used for and you can enforce a bedtime, so your kids can’t sit around talking to Alexa all night. This handy addition was not something we expected, but it's proven to be incredibly useful (making sure the children's room is toasty/not cold), adding to the overall utility of the device beyond just entertainment.It’s just enough information that it isn’t distracting in a bedroom and it doesn’t come with the added privacy concerns of a smart display that has a camera. That may sound a little weedy, but the Echo Dot Kids is surprisingly loud and clear, particularly for voice responses and audiobooks. The Kids Edition Echo Dot is by far the cutest smart speaker I’ve ever seen, with its tiger or panda designs and softball size. Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) support for audio streaming from your mobile device to Echo Dot or from Echo Dot to your Bluetooth speaker.

For adults, the Echo series is helpful for checking the news, listening to music and powering smart home products such as light bulbs and video doorbells.

We've had a fantastic experience with this device, and it's become an invaluable addition to our family life. Controller was as advertised great condition all parts with instructions in genuine box, even original batteries were in box. As a parent, I can easily manage content, set time limits, and review activity, ensuring a safe and controlled environment for my children. This would have been a great hit had our tester actually needed an alarm clock (where are these kids who need alarm clocks; don’t they all wake up at 6. It’s also a great tool for kids to learn with, as they can ask what a word means, how to spell it and get answers to general questions.

The Kids edition gives your child a neutered glimpse of this tech – and could prove to be seriously useful at letting them experience a voice assistant while slashing the risk of hearing bad words in music or asking questions that go without monitoring. My one wish would be to be able to set a maximum volume per unit that way when they think they can go to their room and crank up their "dance music" there would be a limit to what the rest of the house has to put up with with out having to pull out the app to set the volume or of course having to go to their room and try and get their attention to turn it down. But the new model is definitely less discreet than the prior generation, and its taller size means it’s harder to mount on a wall.The parental controls are strong enough to give us total peace of mind while letting our kids feel grown-up that they have their own Alexa device. Kids can take charge of their routines with Alexa by setting their own alarms, turning off compatible smart lights and adding reminders. Or, let everyone know dinner is ready by making an announcement to every room that has a compatible Echo device. Plus, all wood fibre-based materials used in Echo Dot Kids device packaging is made entirely from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources.