Amazon stepped up its game and, on top of the never-ending list of web-services and products it already offers, it gave children a chance to use some of its features under parental surveillance.

Amazon.com, Inc. is a company for which an introduction almost seems redundant nowadays: it’s very likely that every person you encounter on the street knows what Amazon is. The ever-growing American multinational technology empire was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 in Bellevue (Washington) and it started as an online marketplace for books, but it quickly expanded to sell electronic devices, softwares, video games, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry.

As of today, Amazon is considered on par with other giant companies – such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook – and it has been referred to as the world’s most valuable brand. The company is now a full-fledged e-commerce that also offers a multitude of services that include cloud computing (Amazon Web Services), digital streaming (Amazon Prime), and artificial intelligence (Alexa, Echo).

During the current sanitary emergency Amazon’s sales skyrocketed, reporting a 37% increase in earnings in the third-quarter of 2020, solidifying the company as the go-to choice when it comes to online shopping.

What Amazon services and products are suitable for children?

In the case that you’re a parent that has been using Amazon services or products, you might want to look into some of these features, to the delight of your kid:

• you can create an Amazon Kids (formerly Amazon FreeTime) or an Amazon Kids+ (formerly Amazon FreeTime Unlimited) account;
• you can create an Amazon Household;
• you can create a Child Profile on your Kindle E-Reader;
• you can purchase an Amazon device intended for children, like one of the Fire Kids Edition tablets.

Amazon Kids and Amazon Kids+

Amazon Kids, formerly named Amazon FreeTime, is a subscription that offers a variety of content for children, such as music, videos, books, apps and games and educational content; creating an Amazon Kids account is free, although the service can be accessible only via Fire tablet.

Amazon Kids+, formerly Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, is also a subscription that can be purchased on Amazon and it offers additional, exclusive content for kids: now your child has access to thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, Audible books, and games on compatible Fire, Fire TV, Android, iOS and Kindle devices. Plus, parents can easily access parental controls that allow them to find the right balance between education and entertainment. This means that you can personalize screen time limits, set educational goals, filter age-appropriate content, and also manage web browsing and content usage based on your preferences.

Amazon Household

Amazon Household is a subscription that allows you to share Amazon content with the whole family; a Household can host up to two adults, four teens and four children, and each member has their own profile.

As a parent, you can create a Child Profile (12 years old or under) by simply doing this:

• go to Amazon Household
• select Add a Child

You’ll then be able to share digital content (eBooks, apps, and games) with your kids. You’ll also have full control on your children’s activities because you can personalize each child’s experience by selecting what content they can see, and setting educational goals and time limits. Children cannot shop on Amazon through their Child profile, so don’t worry about that.

Create a Child Profile for Kindle E-Reader

If your Kindle is in Amazon Kids, go to the menu, select Exit Amazon Kids, and enter your parental controls pin to add another child profile.

1. From the Home screen, click on Menu
2. Tap on Amazon Kids
3. Select Add New Profile, or Add Child Profile
4. Enter your parental controls pin code, if requested, then your chid’s name, birthday and gender
5. Choose from the content of your own library what you want to include in the child’s library, then click Next
6. Now enter the kid’s profile and check the reading settings, then select Done.

Amazon devices for children

You can purchase one of these kid-friendly Amazon devices if you want to keep an eye on the type of content your children consume: the Kindle Kids Edition and the Fire Kids Edition tablet.

The Kindle Kids Edition is the first reading device specifically created for children. It includes 1 year of free Amazon Kids+, so your child will get all of the service’s benefits. The Kindle device performs differently than a tablet, since it’s only geared to book-reading, meaning that children won’t be distracted by ads, games or videos.

Then we have the Fire Kids Edition tablets, launched for the first time in 2012, that reached the 10th version as of 2019. The Fire HD 10 Kids Edition, for instance, is rated by Amazon as the largest and fastest Fire device, and it comes with 1 year of free Amazon Kids+, along with Audible books, educational apps, music, videos and more.