For many parents, giving kids access to the digital world can feel a little like you’re dropping your kids off at an overcrowded zoo, where there are no cages, no rules, and, at any moment, the lions can get hungry. This is why Amazon has worked hard to create a digital environment that’s safe, entertaining, and educational.
Amazon Kids devices and services are designed for your kids to learn and grow, while you customize and participate in their discovery and development. To help with that, every Amazon Kids device comes with a one-year subscription of Amazon Kids+.
What is Amazon Kids+?
Amazon Kids+ is the only kid-focused content service with thousands of ad-free and age-appropriate books, games, videos, music, apps, and Alexa Skills, from trusted brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, Marvel, Lego, Sesame Street, and PBS Kids. Amazon Kids+ subscription content is geared toward preschool to preteen kids.
“We're constantly refreshing our catalog and making sure that we keep delivering new titles that keep kids really excited,” said Jon Lyon, who leads the content and business development teams at Amazon Kids+.
Lyon adds that the frequently updated content is designed to grow with kids, letting them follow their own curiosity. As a dad to a 9-year-old, he knows it’s important to ensure his daughter has access to inspiring and educational content that can feed her growing curiosity. Through Amazon Kids+, she can explore her current passion—frogs—by reading books from National Geographic, watching videos about frogs in South America, or getting inspired to go search for frogs outside.
There are no ads, parental controls to prevent in-app purchases, and the safe web browser means kids can follow their curiosity without stumbling on inappropriate content or social media.
Every Amazon Kids device comes with one year of Amazon Kids+, and ongoing subscriptions start at $4.99 per month for Prime members ($7.99 for non-Prime customers). Families can benefit from the same Amazon Kids+ subscription across any compatible Fire tablet, Kindle, Fire TV, or Echo device, in addition to other Android or iOS tablets or phones.
What kind of content can I expect to see on Amazon Kids+?
Through Amazon Kids+, kids can learn how to make balloon animals, watch videos about the world’s oceans, read about historical figures, learn to draw, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, or have a dance party. Kids can learn the basics of computer programming through a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM)-related content, such as Rabbids Coding! and codeSpark. Toca Lab introduces kids to the elements of the periodic table. There’s plenty of family fun games, including Sketch N’ Guess, where kids use a Fire Kids tablet and parents connect on their phone to share drawings and guess what the other has sketched.
Amazon also features a treasure trove of Original shows, such as Blippi’s Treehouse (preschool) Hello Kitty: Super Style! (ages 4–8), and Super Spy Ryan (ages 3-8).
“We want to be a positive contribution to a child in their development, in whatever way they want and need us to be,” says Monte Babington, who leads content and child engagement for Amazon Kids. “If you’re interested in … fill in the blank … we probably have a book, video, or app related to it.”
How does the Parent Dashboard work?
Beyond the subscription, Amazon’s Parent Dashboard lets parents or guardians create profiles for up to four children. From there, they can configure settings, set screen-time limits, monitor their child’s activities, and find age-appropriate books, apps, games, videos, Alexa Skills, and other content.
For Lyon, Parent Dashboard is like a set of training wheels that can be adjusted as his daughter becomes more capable of self-regulating both her screen time and the content she searches.
“Our platform does a really good job of giving parents tools to easily adjust with each new level of independence,” he said.
The goal of the Parent Dashboard is to help your child build up their critical-thinking skills, so they can make appropriate decisions as they mature. Eventually, children will be equipped with the critical-thinking skills they need to make their own decisions regarding appropriate content and screen time. With plenty of family conversation around screen time, Lyon is helping his daughter learn to recognize for herself when it’s time to go run around outside.
What is Amazon Family Trust?
Whether kids are digging in a virtual sandbox or swimming in information about frogs, Amazon’s Family Trust team works with parents and experts to ensure kids stay safe online.
“If you talk to any parent, there is nothing more important in their world than the health and wellness of their children,” says Catherine Teitelbaum, head of Family Trust for Amazon Kids. “This is in the front of our minds as we develop all our products.”
Through Amazon’s Family Digital Well-Being Hub, Family Trust provides parents and guardians with the resources they need to learn about Amazon digital devices and content, and how to safely navigate the digital world.
Amazon Kids+ is available in Canada, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the U.S. Kids and families can use Amazon Kids+ across compatible Echo, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Kindle, Android, and iOS devices. Amazon Kids devices come with a one-year subscription included (terms apply and auto renews after one year) and a two-year, worry-free guarantee.
