The Echo Dot Kids is one of the most compact and streamlined Alexa smart speakers and comes equipped with Amazon's Kids+ content and enhanced parental controls. The Echo Show 5 Kids sports the same specialized platform and content catalog along with a 5-inch touchscreen that opens you and your kid up to video content as well as audio.

Aside from the child-focused software on the two devices, they usually serve very different purposes. The Echo Dot Kids is almost exclusively voice-controlled and delivers good sound quality. On the other hand, the Echo Show 5 Kids offers a precise touch screen with a relatively high pixel density that's good for enjoying a wide range of content.

As Amazon Prime Day approaches with deep discounts on both Kids smart devices — and thousands of other smart home products that work with them — let's examine which one you're willing to let into your kid's bedroom or playroom.

What makes either one good for kids?

Make no mistake, the Echo Dot Kids and Echo Show 5 Kids have identical hardware to their non-Kids base models, the Echo Dot (4th Gen) and Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen). The main difference from the originals is entirely a matter of software and aesthetics. The Kids versions give adults more out-of-the-box specific control over the content that kids can access and how long they can access it each day. In that light, both Kids editions are better for rooms or households with kids aged 3-7 than the non-Kids models. The software is still useful for keeping tabs on older children aged 6-12 years, but the standard level of parental controls may be enough for some households at that age.

Other than access to Amazon's Kids+ subscription service, only two things set the Kids models apart from the "normal" Echo Dot and Show 5. Firstly, they have cuter, kid-friendly fabric covers that emulate pandas, tigers, and chameleons. Secondly, the warranty is two years "worry-free" instead of a limited one-year warranty.

Both come with an Amazon Kids+ subscription

Amazon's Kids+ offers a vast amount of hand-picked content for kids and ample moderation and curation controls for parents. Kids can watch age-appropriate shows, listen to stories, play educational games, and engage with kid-friendly Alexa skills. All Amazon Kids smart devices include a one-year subscription. After that year, it's roughly $3 to $5 per month, depending on whether or not you subscribe to Amazon Prime.

The most significant upside to Kids+ is the enhanced parental control suite it offers. You can allow or block specific sites and video sources and monitor your child's usage by content type. So as your child ages, you can give them access to increasingly complex content and subject matter, but only when they're ready.

What's the Echo Dot Kids for?

The fourth generation of Amazon's Echo Dot is its most successful smart speaker to date. For issuing voice commands that are heard clearly, and getting fast and accurate results from Alexa, few smart speakers can beat it. It sounds good when playing music even though it's not very big or expensive, and the microphones are powerful enough to be heard from across the room, even when your four-year-old is having themselves a Disney Hits dance party.

While it lacks a display for glanceable info such as weather, it's great for getting information such as spelling help and fetching fun music when it's playtime. While it's great for talking to Alexa and getting a fast and accurate response, kids won't be taking advantage of popular features such as voice-controlled shopping and controlling smart home devices with Alexa. Kids will at least be able to play games with Alexa as well as it all kinds of questions (with age-appropriate filters)

Echo Show 5 Kids features

The 5-inch touchscreen on the Echo Show 5 Kids is a little small for most adults to get much out of, but it's perfect for kids' small fingers. With a display, a child can actually see answers to questions they ask Alexa instead of just hearing a description. And, naturally, a screen gives kids access to fun visual content, including cartoons and games. Don't worry about the screen making the Echo Show 5 Kids too distracting. The Kids+ parental dashboard makes it easy to restrict use when it's time for schoolwork or chores.

Another useful upgrade in the Show 5 Kids is a front-facing HD camera. While both the Dot Kids and Show 5 Kids allow for calls to pre-approved contacts, the Show is great for video calls while the Dot is only capable of voice calls. This gives a child a certain degree of self-sufficiency in keeping up with family, letting them show off artwork or new toys to their grandparents or cousins.

Choosing between the Echo Show 5 Kids and Echo Dot Kids

If you want a single, reasonably priced smart device that can enrich and enliven your young one's life, the Echo Show 5 is a great choice. It offers fun games, educational content, reliable video communication, and a convenient alarm clock. Since the Echo Dot Kids lacks a screen, it's not nearly as versatile, but some households prefer to simplify and compartmentalize electronics usage. If your child really loves music, the Dot is an easy choice because it offers much more satisfying sound, and since it's a speaker, not a screen, it won't be as bright around bedtime when they're demanding to listen to How Far I'll Go for the fiftieth time today.

If you decide the Echo Dot Kids is right for you, you still have other options for visual-oriented devices. Amazon's Fire Kids and Fire Kids Pro tablets offer impressive functionality along with the same extensive parental controls and content access you expect from the Amazon Kids+ service.

Essentially, if you combined the Echo Dot Kids and Fire HD Kids tablet and scaled down the result, you'd end up with the Echo Show 5 Kids. It can do much of what both devices can, but it's smaller, simpler, and costs significantly less than the two of them combined.

The bottom line

The Echo Show 5 Kids has a 5-inch touchscreen and middling speaker, while the Echo Dot Kids sounds a little better but has no display. Both offer access to the same content, but your child obviously can't watch anything on the Dot.

If your home is already full of electronics and you want a capable voice-activated smart display for the little one, the Echo Show 5 Kids provides that and doesn't cost a fortune. You can spend even less by opting for the Echo Dot Kids, as long as you don't need the visual component. If you decide later on that a screen would make a big difference, the low-cost Fire 7 Kids tablet or one of the best kids tablets will make a great companion to the Dot, as would an Amazon Kindle Kids.

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Buy Amazon Echo Dot Kids

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