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In this post, I review the nine very best Amazon device gifts for kids [2020 Gift Giving Guide].

Whether you have kids of your own or are looking to pick up a little something for a member of the younger set, these seven gadgets all make great gifts kids are sure to love.

Here are my picks for the best Amazon device gifts for kids, ordered by age-appropriateness:

Ages 3-12: Echo Dot Kids Edition Ages 3-12: Fire HD 7 Kids Edition Tablet Ages: 3-12: Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet Ages: 3-12: Fire HD 10 Kids Edition Tablet Ages: 3-up: Echo Glow Ages: 3-up: Echo Dot Buttons Ages 7-12: Amazon Kindle Kids Edition Ages: 13-up: Amazon Echo Dot Ages 15-up: Echo Show 8 or 5

Got Kids?

Got kids? Or do you know someone who does? Of course, you do.

Shortly after I updated my post comparing the Echo Dot Kids Edition to the original Echo Dot, a few of you had asked about additional Amazon device gifts for kids.

I am a kid at heart, so I couldn’t think of anyone better for the job.

So, dear readers who want to spoil that special youngster, this post is for you.

1 All-New Echo Dot Kids Edition

Best for Ages 0 to 12

The #1 pick on my list of Amazon device gifts for kids is the Echo Dot Kids Edition. Amazon recently upgraded the design to its newest generation look and feel. The best thing about this speaker is that it is designed from the ground up for kids. The kiddos can listen to Disney stories, classic fairytales, and music; play games; call pre-approved friends and family members, explore a smorgasbord of kid-friendly skills, and more. Echo Dot Kids comes in two colorful designs that are aesthetically pleasing to children: a colorful Rainbow design and a boyish Blue. It also ships with a handy carrying case, and it even includes a comic-like instruction manual. The parental controls can be set online or through a toll-free customer service number. Yay, Alexa! SEE IT AT AMAZON

Kids Will Love 👦👧🏻

Loads of kid-appropriate content from the likes of Disney, Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, and more.

Two fun kid-friendly design /color choices in Rainbow and Blue.

FreeTime Unlimited gives kids access to over 1,000 Audible books, thousands of songs, and hundreds of games and skills.

Kids can ask Alexa questions, check the weather, set alarms and timers, and more.

Alexa will also play music, tell jokes, and read stories appropriate to younger ears.

Kids can control lights, plugs, and switches using Alexa’s smart home features.

👪 Parents Will Like

The Parent Dashboard gives you granular, centralized control over content to which your kids are exposed.

Pause Alexa if you hear something you don’t like.

Review kids’ activities and set time limits so that they aren’t using it all the time.

Ability to filter explicit songs from certain music services so that your child is never listening to anything you don’t approve of.

An extended two-year warranty means you can easily replace it if your child decides to use it as a hockey puck or a frisbee.

Thanks to Vlad with Check The Tech for this helpful video review:

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Related 📚: Echo Dot Kids Edition vs Echo Dot

2 Fire HD 7 Kids Edition Tablet

Best for Ages 0 to 12

The Fire HD 7 Kids Edition Tablet makes kids feel all grown up with their very own tablet that comes pre-loaded with kid-friendly and educational content. With a 16GB hard drive, the Fire 7 Kid’ Edition Tablet comes with a generous two-year warranty to give you added peace of mind in the event it breaks. Also, with the included one-year FreeTime Unlimited subscription, kids get unlimited access to videos, audiobooks, apps, and educational content to browse the web, watch videos, or listen to music. In other words, parents have complete control and kids can still have loads of fun! SEE IT AT AMAZON

Kids Will Love 👦👧🏻

Choice of a Pink, Blue, or Purple case, each with a built-in stand.

One-year FreeTime Unlimited subscription comes with a ton of kid-friendly content.

Access to 20,000 books, movies, TV shows, apps and games curated especially for kids 3-12.

16 GB of storage (expandable by up to 512 GB) + unlimited cloud storage for Amazon digital content.

Up to 7 hours of battery life.

👪 Parents Will Like

Ability to set age filters to ensure kids see age-appropriate content.

Parents can add content to kids’ profiles and limit access to apps and games like Netflix or Minecraft.

Parents can create time limits, filter the overall content, and even set educational goals.

Ability to manage content for up to four child profiles from a single parent dashboard.

All in-app purchases require parental approval.

Rugged case and two-year, “worry-free guarantee.”

3 Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet

Best for Ages 0 to 12

Available in three different color choices (Blue, Pink, and Yellow), the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet includes a bright 8” HD display and 32GB of internal storage. Plus, kids can use it for up to 10 hours per battery charge and purchasing it gets you one full year of access to apps, videos, Audible audiobooks, and much more from Amazon FreeTime Unlimited. Like the Fire HD 7, kids can also play games such as Minecraft and watch parent-approved movies via Netflix. Parents can monitor activity and set limits on the websites kids can visit. SEE IT AT AMAZON

Kids Will Love 👦👧🏻

Youngsters get access to a ton of kid-friendly content from FreeTime Unlimited, including over 20,000 books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, games.

Kids can access a wide variety of content from fan-faves including PBS, Disney, and Nick Jr.

Up to 10 hours on a single charge means the battery won’t poop out mid-game or mid-stream.

Kids can watch their favorite parent-approved shows on Netflix.

👪 Parents Will Like

You are able to control the amount of time their kids spend on the tablet.

Parents can set age filters ensuring they are only allowed access to age-appropriate content.

You can also restrict access to specific websites and can even review browsing history and usage.

Parental controls are easily managed online via a parent dashboard on the Amazon website.

4 Fire HD 10 Kids Edition Tablet

Best for Ages 0 to 12

The larger 10.1” Fire HD 10 Kids Edition Tablet also comes complete with a colorful, durable case and 32GB of internal storage. The full HD display makes it even more exciting for kids to use, and it comes with one year of free access to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, giving your little hooligans access to sites such as PBS Kids, Disney, Nickelodeon, and many others. After the year is up, you can opt to continue FreeTime Unlimited access for only $2.99 per month, making it a great deal for every family. The annual cost of FreeTime is currently the same for all Fire HD Kids tablets as well as the Echo Dot Kids Edition. The larger screen size makes this one my favorite Amazon device gifts for kids. SEE IT AT AMAZON

Kids Will Love 👦👧🏻

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👪 Parents Will Like

Parents can limit screen time, and set educational goals and curfews.

Ability to filter content and restrict types of music children listen to.

The online parent dashboard and 800 number make it easy to manage content for up to four child profiles.

In FreeTime, kids do NOT have access to social media.

All in-app purchases require parental approval, and kids do not have access to Alexa in FreeTime, so they can’t order up an Xbox—or 100 pizzas.

Quick Comparison Table: Fire HD Tablet 7 vs 8 Vs 10

The following table provides a side-by-side comparison of key specs for Fire HD Tablet 7 vs 8 vs 10.

Fire 7 Fire 8 Fire 10 Display 7 inches diagonal 8 inches diagonal 10 inches diagonal Storage 16GB 32GB 32GB Audio Single [mono] speaker Dual [stereo] speakers Dual [stereo] speakers Camera 2MP front/rear 2MP front/rear VGA front 2 MP rear Educational Apps and Games Audible Audiobooks Minecraft Netflix Yes [with subscription purchased separately] Yes [with subscription purchased separately] Yes [with subscription purchased separately] Color Choices Blue, Pink, Purple Blue, Pink, Yellow Blue, Pink, Yellow One-Year FreeTime Unlimited Resolution 1024 x 600 1280 x 800 1920 x 1200

Wade from Tech Daily does a really nice job in this video review comparing the Amazon Fire HD 7 and Fire HD Kids Edition tablets:

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5 Amazon Echo Glow

Best for Ages 0 and Up

Available November 20 of 2020, the Amazon Echo Glow is a brand-new multicolored smart lamp that is great for kids and works great with Alexa. The first thing that you need to know is that the Echo Glow requires a compatible Alexa device in order for it to work. It works only with Alexa and does not support other smart speakers like Google Home or Apple Homepod. The upshot is that the device is so simple to set up and use that it’s completely stress-free for parents. Kids can even create lighting cues that help them count down to dinner time [or bedtime!] or tell them when they can stop reading. SEE IT AT AMAZON

Kids Will Love 👦👧🏻

Playing to beautiful rainbow lighting patterns.

Controlling the smart light’s color and brightness using Alexa.

Having a smart light that is especially for them.

Synching it up to their favorite music using an Echo Dot or other compatible Alexa device.

👪 Parents Will Like

Super simple setup using the Alexa app.

Making bedtime fun with the Rainbow timer to keep bedtime routines on track.

‘Easing wake up time’ feature gradually makes light brighter until it’s time to wake up.

Related 📚: Philips Hue Play Vs Bloom Vs Go: Smart Light Play Time!

6 Amazon Echo Buttons

Best for Ages 0 and Up

Available as an enhancement to the Echo Dot, Echo Show, and others, Amazon’s Echo Buttons allow kids an interactive way to play games and control smart home routines. They come two to a set and provide a way to activate any smart home routine with the touch of a button. Setting up the buttons is super easy by asking for help from Alexa. This lets the fun begin for “the kids” as soon as you take them out of the package. Remember Simon? Man, did we have fun in the 80s or what? With the Echo Dot buttons, kids can play games just like Simon and a whole more. SEE THEM AT AMAZON

Kids Will Love 👦👧🏻

Playing a variety of kid-friendly games using the buttons, including Fan Disney Trivia, Hide and Seek, Simon Tap, Battleship Tap, and Trivial Pursuit Family Edition.

The ability to control smart home routines at the click of a button.

👪 Parents Will Like

Easy setup with an Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Plus, or Echo Spot. Just ask, “Alexa, setup my Echo Buttons”

The ability to connect up to four buttons makes this a fun activity the whole family can play.

7 Kindle Kids Edition

Best for Ages 0 and Up

Made specifically for kids, the Amazon Kindle Kids Edition allows them access to thousands of audiobooks that they can peruse with the touch of an icon. Kids can choose from popular titles like Harry Potter and Boxcar Children and onboard tools like Word Wise and Vocabulary Builder help strengthen reading skills. Available in four different designs, it lets them concentrate on books only because there are no games or movies to distract them. Kids can explore thousands of popular titles at any time, and the device comes with a free year of FreeTime Unlimited for their reading enjoyment. SEE IT AT AMAZON

Kids Will Love 👦👧🏻

Four cool color choices including Blue, Pink, Rainbow Birds, and Space Station.

Ability to choose from thousands of popular kid-friendly books and series.

Titles range from Harry Potter and The Boxcar Children to classics like Mary Poppins and The Hobbit.

That Gollum character always freaks me out. Smeagol, Smeagol. Yikes!

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👪 Parents Will Like

No games, ads, or videos means kids are free from distractions to keep them reading!

Parental controls that keep kids away from books you don’t want them to read.

Parents can set educational goals and even view their child’s reading progress for each book and each day.

Amazon Parent Dashboard makes changing the settings fast and simple

If you ever have any questions or problems, you simply contact the customer service department for assistance.

8 For Older Kiddos: All-New Echo Dot

Best for Ages 0 and Up

With an attractive fabric design that comes in four different colors, the Amazon Echo Dot [3rd Generation] is a compact smart speaker that your older kids will appreciate even if space is limited. It has a rich, loud sound and a high-quality speaker that makes using it a lot more fun for teens who are starting to really appreciate music. They can ask Alexa to play music from their favorite services like Pandora, iHeartRadio, Apple Music, and Spotify; answer questions; listen to Podcasts; check the weather. And Alexa now has thousands of skills they can use to help with homework, stay in touch with friends, and generally make a teenage life a little easier. Oh, and now that Amazon has added an LCD clock to the front of the dot, it will hopefully help them get out of bed on time for school too. Yeah, right! SEE IT AT AMAZON

9 For Older Kiddos: Echo Show 8 or 5

Best for Ages -1000 and Up

Last on my list of the best Amazon device gifts for kids is the Amazon Echo Show. With a 5” or 8” display screen, the Echo Show Show 5 or Echo Show 8 can make a great gift for older or more “mature” kids in your life. Teens can use the device to issue voice commands along with a screen to control their home life. Your kids can also connect with you and their friends via messaging and video calling. You can also set up the Echo Show to act as a video intercom to communicate with other devices in your home. Your kids can even personal their home screen so that everyone knows who it belongs to. SEE IT AT AMAZON 📚Related: Echo Show 8 vs 5 vs 2nd Gen: Which is ‘Just Right?’

Can You Make Echo Dot Kid-Friendly?

Yes, you can make the adult version of an Echo Dot kid-friendly by enabling parental controls on the device. However, you won’t get access to the free one-year FreeTime Unlimited subscription like you will with the Echo Dot Kids Edtion. You also don’t get the extended two-year warranty, the fun colors, carrying case, or comic-book-like documentation.

Still, the Echo Dot from grown-ups may be more appropriate for older kids, or kids who think they are too old for the Kids Edition. The good news is that you can enable parental controls on the device, by following the steps under “How To Enable Parental Controls” below.

DGIT also has a nice guide here, although my instructions below are more up to date where the Alexa app is concerned.

What Can Kids Do with an Echo?

Whether you choose an Echo Dot Kids Edition, regular Echo Dot, or an Echo Show, the selection of Echo products for kids affords them some amazing opportunities, including the chance to:

Listen to kid-appropriate stories and Audible audiobooks

Play content from kid-friendly entertainment networks like PBS Kids, Disney and Nickelodeon

Get help with Math, History, English, Science, Spelling and other schoolwork

Play music from favorite artists and, if on an Echo Show, view song lyrics

Control smart devices such as lights and plugs

Communicate with other Echo devices in the home

Enjoy a variety of fun and educational games

It is important to note that there are some non-native-Alexa devices (Fire HD, Kindle) on my list of best Amazon devices for kids, and parents can always control what kids have access to with Alexa.

Is Amazon Alexa Safe for Kids?

This is a common question asked by families with young children in the household, and the answer to this question is yes, Alexa is safe for kids as long as certain precautions are taken.

These devices all have a way to allow parents to filter the content so that kids can’t access songs with explicit lyrics, shopping sites that allow them to run up a credit card bill or call people you may not want them to talk to.

Simply put, parents can use parental control features to make Alexa safe for kids. They can also use their judgment about what is appropriate for the age and maturity level of their children.

How to Enable Parental Controls

Parental control capabilities in the various Alexa-compatible tools are super easy to utilize, even for parents who are not exactly tech-savvy.

For Youngsters

To set any type of parental controls for Kids Edition devices, first you need to enable FreeTime.

To Enable FreeTime:

On your iOS or Android device, open the Alexa app. On the bottom right, tap Devices. Tap Echo & Alexa. Select the devices for which you want to enable parental control. Scroll down and select FreeTime. Tap the toggle to change it from Disabled to Enabled. Tap the Setup Amazon FreeTime button at the bottom. Enter your child’s first name, select a gender and enter the birthdate. Choose an icon and select Add Child. Tap Continue, then enter your Amazon password and tap Sign in. It may also ask you to confirm it’s you through two-factor authentication.

To Access the Parental Controls Dashboard:

Do the following to access the Parent Dashboard on your computer or from a mobile device:

👉Go to https://parents.amazon.com.

Note: For Amazon FreeTime-enabled devices, Alexa communication is available only for parent-approved contacts outside your household.

For Teens:

To allow teenagers to shop on their own and parents can approve purchases over text. Go to https://www.amazon.com/cr/parentLanding. Click Sign up Now and follow the instructions provided

Getting Help

Once you log on, the steps are usually self-explanatory; however, Amazon also publishes a toll-free phone number for Free-Time Unlimited customers you can utilize if you have any questions or concerns while setting up your device.

You will get access to the number after you sign up.

Best Amazon Device Gifts for Kids: Your Take?

So what do you think about my picks for best Amazon device gifts for kids? Are you considering gifting one of these cool gadgets to a child this year?

Do you feel the parental controls give you peace of mind enough to trust your kids with Alexa?

Amazon has sure come a long way to address consumer privacy concerns over the past year. I do think the parental controls and other privacy options will continue to get even better.

By the way, if you are curious about some additional Alexa devices that Amazon announced in September, don’t miss my “A+ Alexa” post. I’ll include a link under Related Links below.

Please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts. I hope to hear from you!

Related Links

A+ Alexa! 19 Awesome Amazon Echo Device Gifts for 2020

11 Brainy New Ways To Use Echo Show in Homeschool

Echo Dot Kids Edition vs Echo Dot: Appropos For Your Kiddos?

11 Baby & Toddler Tech Gifts for Dads [And the Moms Who ❤️ Them]

SNOO vs Halo vs BabyBjorn vs Alternatives [Smart Crib Review & Comparison]

How To Use Echo Show as a Baby Monitor [3 Cute Easy Ways]

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About the Author

Tim Brennan, Technical Writer & Blogger

Tim Brennan [a.k.a. "Tec Timmy"] is a senior technical writer with over 20 years of experience writing for companies and organizations in and around Greater Boston, including GE and MIT. In addition to actively writing for this smart home blog, Tim is also a regular contributor over at UniversalRemoteReviews.com. Tim holds a BA in Journalism from Northeastern University. Brennan is a father to two sons, an active blogger, a Star Wars nut, and loves a good taco🌮. There is a strong chance he is developing a crush on Amazon Alexa. You can learn more about Tim here.