I didn’t even know what Amazon Alexa was when my family got it as a gift one Christmas and now I can’t imagine our home without it. The benefits:
- Emergency calls: Alexa can be synced with your smart phone, so you can set it up to call important contacts, like grandparents or your spouse. I taught my 4.5 year old daughter to call my husband’s cell and her grandma simply by saying “Alexa, call…..” This is so important in case of an emergency and she has trouble using a cell phone.
- Drop-in calls: My husband travels a lot for work and sometimes he’ll call when I’m busy and not near my phone. He set Alexa so he can just “drop in” to our living room and start speaking to the kids.
- Easy shopping: Whenever I’m low on diapers or an item I frequently purchase, I just have to tell Alexa to re-order for me. I don’t even need to text myself a reminder, write a note or run to my computer.
- Educational games: My almost two-year-old son loves playing The Animal Sounds Game. It’s teaching him how to say words and make animal sounds and he’s able to really interact.
- Family dance parties before bed: What better way to get your kids active and drain extra energy before bed than by a dance party? We play Freeze Dance, our wedding song (and dance as a family), Ring Around The Rosie, Head Shoulders, you get the point.
- Sleep training: Sometimes when my son wakes up in the middle of the night and I want him to try to ease himself back to sleep on his own, I play lullabies and bedtime music on Alexa. Works like a charm!
- Time-outs: When my daughter needs a time-out, I set a timer on Alexa and she knows she can’t get up from her chair until the timer chimes.
Lesson learned from this post: If you’re a parent, get Alexa (or the smaller Echo). It will enhance your life.
Joelle Speranza
