5 Ways to Entertain Kids with Alexa

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My kids love our Alexa. There were a solid two months when my three-year-old would say goodbye to Alexa before he said goodbye to me when he left for preschool. Alexa is also who he ran to tell that he successfully peed on the potty (this is my request for someone to invent a potty training Alexa skill.)

I know everyone doesn’t have these same warm and fuzzy feelings about the latest technology trend … but, similar to cell phone usage and computer skills, I firmly believe that voice skills aren’t going anywhere. Especially since new research shows that by 2023, voice assistant technology usage will grow by 1000%.

That said, if they’re not going anywhere, my take is that we may as well embrace them … and teach kids how to use them safely. (Or at the very least, give my kids something to talk to so I can spend 20 minutes making dinner without answering a million questions.)

My Favorite Ways for Alexa to Entertain my Kids

Being the Bad Cop

My three-year-old used to have a temper tantrum every night at bedtime … until we made Alexa announce it was bedtime. A move born purely out of frustration, it works seamlessly. Instead of a temper tantrum, our toddler listens intently to her every night as she tells him his bedtime routine that has since evolved from “it’s time to go to bed” to “it’s time to brush your teeth, use the potty, and go to bed.”

It works so well that we use it as a routine tracker throughout the day. Nap time? Check. Time to leave for preschool? Check.

 

Manners

Unlike words you’d rather your kids not remember, please and thank you never seem to stick.

Enter the Magic Word skill for Alexa.

This skill offers positive reinforcement to children when they make requests using the word “please.” In return, Alexa will respond by saying “thank you” and “you’re welcome.” This is particularly important since some research claims kids may not understand why they do not need to be polite to Alexa but do need to be polite to people.

Entertainment

Amazon is slowly building an arsenal of kid-specific skills including gems like Sesame Street (Elmo talks to kids about letters), Amazon Storytime, and the Animal Game. Amazon has been pushing developers to add in more kids’ skills to the library, which currently consists of 500+ skills.

Dance Parties

Alexa works great for an impromptu dance party, especially if you have an Amazon Prime account, and can listen to Prime music. My kids can ask Alexa to sing their favorite songs whether that be “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Freeze Dance”, “Bye Bye Bye” and “Party in the USA” (sorry, not sorry.)

Pronunciation

Since my kids are growing up with Alexa, they LOVE talking to her. But, to speak to her successfully, she needs to be able to understand them. It amazes me just how many times my son will stand in front of our Alexa and calmly ask her to do something he’s asked her to do ten times before as he practices pronouncing the words correctly. And when he’s not patient? There’s nothing more amusing than a toddler and a robot getting into a fight.

Bonus: Alexa for Babysitter

Ok … so maybe this isn’t about entertaining the kids. But it is about the kids. Earlier this spring, Amazon launched Alexa Blueprints that allows you to make a skill of your own with no coding that can be used to help guide babysitters and houseguests. You can train this skill to help your sitter find things, remember dinner and bedtime routines and get important info (like the wifi password!)

What are your favorite uses for Alexa? Leave a comment below!

1 COMMENT

  1. Lists! I am obsessed with asking Alexa to make my lists. I can say “Alexa, add butter to my grocery list” with butter up to my elbows. Fast forward to the store, pull it up on my phone app and check it off! I love love love checking things off.
    I have a house projects list, a honey-do list, so my husband can see what little chores need to be done without me remembering or nagging.
    We also let Alexa do alot of parenting via reminders, answering all the weird questions and with the drop-in function on the Echo Show I can see my kids raiding the pantry. With the Make Announcement function I can have her tell everyone dinner is ready. All the Alexas in the house simultaneously say wherever you ask her to. I am anxiously awaiting my Alexa for the car 🙂 I can make even more lists!

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