Have you seen the Amazon Echo yet? Leave it to Amazon to create such a cool product! The Amazon Echo is basically a personal assistant that lives in your house and is always listening for your next request. The Echo can play music, answer your questions, sync with your smart devices, and even control your lights!
But here’s what we think is super cool: the Amazon Echo makes an AWESOME addition to your child’s bedtime routine.
6 Ways To Use Amazon Echo In Your Child’s Bedtime Routine
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Use the Amazon Echo as the bedtime timer.
I looooooove this application of the Echo. For toddlers and preschoolers, we strongly recommend instituting a bedtime countdown, to help your child adjust to the fact that bedtime is approaching. Well now, instead of you having to play the role of bad guy (or bad mama) with the timer, you can make the Amazon Echo your scapegoat. Ask Alexa (that’s the Echo’s “name”) to set a timer for you; your kids can even ask Alexa how many more minutes they have until it’s bedtime. How cool is that?
Another idea is to set an alarm every night at the same time. You can make it a regular alarm or a music alarm. For example, you can set an alarm for 7 PM to start the routine and another one for 7:30 PM, the time you want it to end.
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Let the Amazon Echo read your little one a bedtime story.
I’m not advocating that you check out entirely and let the Amazon Echo read ALL of your child’s bedtime stories – not at all. There is no substitute for snuggling with and reading to your little one. But wouldn’t it be great to have Alexa kick off the bedtime stories by reading a story to your child while you brush teeth? While you put on PJs? Or, tell “one more bedtime story” after you’ve left the room?
The Amazon Echo connects to your Audible account, so any children’s book that’s available on Audible can be read to your child by your Echo.
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Let the Amazon Echo play a few lullabies.
This is where the Echo really shines – you can set up playlists online and then have your Echo play them for you anytime, anywhere. How perfect is that for bedtime?
Create a bedtime lullaby playlist, and ask Alexa to start playing it at any point during your bedtime routine. This can come in so, so handy: we always recommend that you have a strong, definitive end to your bedtime routine, and ending with the same song each night is a great way to achieve that!
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Use the Amazon Echo to gradually dim the lights.
Now you can use smart bulbs and switches and ask Alexa to dim the lights. Simply say something similar to “Alexa, dim Jane’s room 50%.” You can also say “Alexa, make Jane’s room red.”
Once you have compatible hardware, you can ask Alexa to dim the lights in your child’s room as you near the end of your routine. This, coupled with a lullaby playlist, is a fantastic way to really strengthen your child’s bedtime routine, and to signal that sleep is approaching – all while you stay cuddled up with your little one in rocker!
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Use the Amazon Echo as a white noise machine.
To use the Echo for white noise, you’d need to leave the Echo in your child’s room all night long and that isn’t practical for every family. Opt for an Echo Dot, instead.
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Use the Amazon Echo to talk to your child from another room.
This might be the coolest way to use the Echo as part of your child’s bedtime routine. The Amazon Echo has this “Simon Says” feature, in which you speak into the remote and the Echo repeats whatever you say. The bedtime implications of this are awesome.
Imagine if your toddler is calling out to you, asking for another glass of water. You can have Alexa remind your child that he’s already had two glasses of water, and that it’s time to go to sleep.
Just keep in mind that Alexa will repeat whatever you say in her “Alexa voice”, so this Simon Says feature may not be a great way to soothe an upset child. Your child may need to hear YOUR voice to be comforted when she’s fussy. But, once it’s routine, this could be a good way to discourage calling out for you in the first place!
You can, of course, keep your child’s bedtime routine very low-tech. A bedtime story and the sound of mom’s voice singing a sweet lullaby has worked for children for centuries. And, it will work for centuries more.
But, we live in an age of wondrous technology, readers, and if you feel so inclined, you should absolutely take advantage of every.single.benefit that technology can provide you – including the benefit of an easier, smoother bedtime routine.
Something else to keep in mind – even if you don’t think you’d want to use the Amazon Echo as part of your child’s bedtime routine, it would make a fantastic Christmas gift for a tech-loving partner or spouse! Nicole bought one for her husband’s birthday, and it’s been a welcome addition to their home.
Your turn: how are you using the Amazon Echo to simplify your little one’s bedtime routine? Any Echo applications we missed here? Share them below!
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Rachel Sweeney says
The bedtime timer is such a cool idea! It’d definitely help cut down on the “aww man!” groans you get when you tell the kids it’s time for bed, haha.
Janelle Reid says
We think so too @Rachel Sweeney! Maybe you can snag one for a good deal this week since it’s Cyber week on Amazon! 🙂
Laura Blair says
Can Alexa be put I’m a sleep mode so a child couldn’t play with it all night?
Neosha says
@Laura – Thank you for reading! That’s a great question – maybe Amazon could be of more help in answering it? Try here – https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201952240 Good luck!
Jorge says
I want Alexa to keep playing music like finger family, baby shark without asking for every single song
Nicole Johnson says
@Jorge We have an Alexa at home and you can make a playlist or play a ready-made playlist any time, so you don’t have to ask for each song. Learn more here: https://amzn.to/2FT0yVo
Michelle says
“But we live in an age of wondrous technology, readers, and if you feel so inclined, you should absolutely take advantage of every.single.benefit that technology can provide you” And I don’t need the Echo device to do most of this.
Honestly this sounds like a sales pitch for the thing “If you want an excuse to buy ANOTHER….” I could get a white noise machine for the price of one of them and park that in my kids’ room without being worried that they might talk to it or order crap all night.
Danielle says
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! When the Amazon Echo first came out, we had a lot of questions from the families we worked with about whether they should use it as a part of their sleep coaching efforts, and this article was written at the time to help address those questions. Several of us do like the Echo, and we have many families who do use it or another smart home device, but we also have tons of families who don’t own one and never will. We strongly believe that families should be empowered to make the best decisions they can for their own well-being, and we like to offer information to help them be fully informed to make those decisions. We sincerely appreciate your comment, and please let us know if we can be of any further help!
barbara says
if you buy 3 and put in 3 kids room can one listen music when other one listen book reading?
Janelle Reid says
@Barbara, Thanks for reading, and I believe you can! As I mentioned in a different comment, I am not an expert on every feature of the Echo, but I do know you can have up to 12 Echo’s to one Amazon account to be used in different rooms (and I would guess that they could span over different houses) and multiple devices can function at the same time, when linked to the same account. Thanks for your comment!
Renee Clancy says
How can I get the echo to play calming music all night till 6am. My daughter wakes up as soon as the music shuts off
Janelle Reid says
@Renee, Thank you for commenting! I do not know all of the features and settings of the echo perfectly, but I am under the impression you are able to make a playlist long enough and it will play continuously. There is a sleep timer setting available should you decide you want the music to turn off after a certain amount of time, but it doesn’t sound like that’s a feature you want.
Jack says
Just a smiling visitor here to share the love (:, btw great style and design. “The price one pays for pursuing a profession, or calling, is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.” by James Arthur Baldwin.
Neosha says
@Jack – Thank you for your comment and please keep reading!
Alysa Kleinman says
This is an awesome blog post! I had no idea about the countdown timer. Your list of compatible lightbulbs looks like a forum, so you should check out our website and think about updating the link to our list. It’s a little more complete and up to date.
Thanks again for the great ideas for my kids’ bedtime!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Alysa – thanks for your feedback!