If you go into most homes in the UK the chances are there will be either an Amazon Alexa or a Google Nest helping you make your home smarter. However, did you know they have a version designed just for the kids in the house? In this review, we focus on the Amazon Echo Dot Kids 5th Gen.
First Impressions
The Amazon Echo Dot Kids is currently available for £64.99 and is designed to give your young child their first experience with Alexa but the Echo Dot Kids provides appropriate content for their age. The Echo Dot Kids also comes with parental controls and also a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids.
The Amazon Echo Dot Kids comes with some really cool designs such as Owl, Dragon being the 5th Generation along with Panda & Tiger designs that are 4th Gen. In this review we got sent the Owl option which will look great in a young child’s room.
This echo dot comes with some tactile buttons on the top and a LED light around the bottom just like the echo dot I have in the kitchen.
Now with the age-appropriate content if you’re a parent who is a little worried about adding tech into your child’s life there is no need to worry. The Echo Dot Kids device will provide child-friendly answers and also has something called the magic word feature which provides praise when your child uses manners and says please or thank you. I would say the adult version needs this feature after some of the people I have met! This device can also tell them kid-friendly stories and even play games with them.
Setup
Just like your existing Amazon Alexa devices set up simply just plug the Echo Dot Kids into a power source and then go to the Amazon Alexa app and pair the device. The Amazon Alexa app will guide you through the process in terms of setting up Amazon Kids, setting up the parental dashboard and even setting up a profile for your child. The whole process won’t take you that long in fact any longer than 10 minutes and something has gone wrong.
Design
The Amazon Echo Dot kids have an identical design to the echo dot I already have positioned in several parts of the house and retain that globe-like shape. The size is 3.9 x 3.9 x 3.5 inches (W x D x H) and it’s fairly lightweight at only 341g. Just like the echo dot, it will fit in the palm of your hand.
The top of the speaker has a few physical buttons such as volume controls, a button to summon Alexa plus a mic-off button. Moving to the rear of the device is the port for the power cable and also a 3.5mm port. The Echo Dot Kids also comes with a 1.6-inch front firing speaker which will be ok for kids but the overall sound quality won’t blow you away. The Echo Dot Kids also has a built-in microphone that can hear you even when its playing music or it’s telling the kids a story.
The design continues to stay the same with the speaker covered in a hard mesh and the bottom made of plastic. The key difference between the kid’s version and the adult version is the print on the exterior as mentioned you have the 4th Gen Panda or Tiger designs and in this review, we got the 5th gen which is either an owl or dragon.
The LED ring at the base also remains the same so when Alexa is spoken to the LED will glow blue, red when the mic is muted and yellow if there is a notification.
Performance
Once you have set up a user profile and have added details such as date of birth so you can ensure they only receive age-appropriate content and responses through the speaker. What impressed me was once the profile was set up access to Amazon kids was instant.
This device really does become a learning aid in terms of your child asking for the correct spelling or even mathematics questions it performed perfectly. Also on the homework front for the older children, you can ask it questions to help with homework such as how tall is Big Ben or what is the capital city of Denmark. This is useful in part unless they should be learning these things then Alexa is not really helping.
When not learning the Echo Dot Kids offers the user a wide range of child-friendly radio stations or you can stream from the usual platforms but the speaker will block access to certain music and even censor explicit language. So no concerns your child will start playing “The Prodigy – Slap my Bitch Up”. The Echo dot also comes with a block again voice purchasing so no worries about any crazy expensive purchases from the kids. It does not prevent the wife from doing so lol.
The Echo Dot kids device also allows them to make voice calls just like any other Echo device you have in your house the sound was nice and clear and you could understand perfectly the other person on the call when asked how I sounded they said perfectly clear so no complaints on that department.
Features/Content
Amazon Kids +
The Amazon Echo Dot Kids has integrated the use of Amazon Kids+ which you get free for a year then is followed but £1.99 per month which considering what you get I think is very beneficial. Amazon Kids+ offers a wide range of child-friendly audible books from the classics to something more current from the likes of child-friendly author David Walliams. Just say “ Alexa Tell me a Disney Story” and like magic, it happens and gives the choice of a long or short version of the story.
You also have a range of Alexa skills from big brands such as Disney or Sesame Street. This provides the kid’s with tasks such as taking part in quizzes, becoming a DJ and even sing-along. The Amazon Kids+ also gives you custom alarms from the like of Olaf from frozen which the kids will love but us parents not so much.
You can also play some interactive games such as the Gruffalo move which takes the child through the wood where they meet the characters and make what happens next decisions. There are also games for older kids from the likes of Duplo, Ghostbusters & Barbie. These games are pretty good and the kids will find them very enjoyable to kill a few hours.
Parental Controls
Parental controls are also attached to your Amazon profile here you can create different profiles for each of your children if you have more than one in your family. You simply need to input their name and age so Alexa knows what is appropriate for each child. You can also set time limits on your echo dot kids so it won’t be able to be used after a certain time.
Image Credit: Trusted Reviews
The Parental controls also help you set educational goals such as how much audible your child should be listening to and you can block any entertainment content until the goals are met like a virtual teacher in the room.
The parental controls also allow you to see what has been said to Alexa which I feel is a little big brother but it will also allow you to monitor how much homework they are doing by themselves. If you really want to take the spying to a whole new level there is also a listening-in function which am not keen on at all.
Verdict
If your looking to introduce your child to some smart home tech the Echo Dot Kids is a great option, especially the fun animal designs they come with. The Amazon Kids + offering is great for when the kids are looking to learn or play this device has something for every occasion. The parental controls are very strong to give you total peace of mind even if I felt the listening in function felt like a step to fair and sure some parents will find the feature beneficial.
Price wise at £64.99 it’s slightly more expensive compared to the adult version but you are getting that animal print on the Alexa, 1 year free of Amazon Kids and that all-important parental control. Now if you already own a spare Echo Dot you can download Amazon kids, parental controls and even the explicit song block so no need to buy an additional Echo Dot Kids meaning you can save some pennies.
Overall, I struggled to find any real faults with this, it is a great introduction to smart speakers for your young child and the option of an owl or dragon print makes this Alexa device fun.
Product Rating:
Design: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Performance: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Amazon Kids : 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Parental Controls: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Value for Money: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Overall ranking: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars – 4.8 Stars
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