Does a kid need an Amazon Echo Dot? And if so, does a kid need a grown-up Echo Dot? Or an Echo Dot Kids Edition? Or does a grown-up need a kid to have a Kids Edition more than a grown-up edition?
These are the questions we parents struggle with. Well, that, and what's for dinner.
But today it's all about the Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition. It is, for all intents and purposes, an Echo Dot, just like it's always been. Only now it has a cool little case. That seems silly, I know. Why does a 3-inch speaker need protecting? All I can say is you've never met my sweet little daughters — and that it's also more about whatever it is that might get knocked onto the Echo Dot than it is the Echo Dot doing the knocking.
More interesting with this more-expensive Echo Dot — it retails for $79 but we're already seeing it for $69 — is that you get a year's worth of Amazon Free Time, for free. (Well, rolled into that more-expensive price.) That gets you access to all kinds of kid-friendly content, and some parental controls that you kids might or might not find a workaround for. (My money's on the kids, though.) That in and of itself pretty much makes up the difference.
But what it doesn't do is answer our original question. Does a kid need an Echo Dot? And in that case, does a kid need a kid-friendly Echo Dot?
That one's on you to answer.

Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition ($79)
The Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition is just like any other Echo Dot. It's got a small speaker. It's got Alexa. And this one comes with a kid-friendly case, access to loads of kid-friendly content, and has parental controls to keep the kid from having too much fun with it.
It's not a bad deal, if only for the kid-friendly books and music and games and stuff. But if they're on the cusp of being a mini-grownup instead of an oversized baby, you might just save some cash and go for the real deal.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

Twitter will soon allow you to charge people to see your tweets
Twitter announced two new features at its Virtual Analyst Day, Super Follows and Communities, in its latest effort to increase its revenue.

5G coverage map: Every US city with AT&T, Verizon & T-Mobile 5G
5G deployment is moving fast and the list of cities with coverage is growing all the time. See if your U.S. city has coverage yet by Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T.

Are you using the S Pen with the Galaxy S21 Ultra?
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the first non-Note phone to work with the S Pen. Is this a feature you've been using?

Amazon Echo accessories to make Alexa even better
No matter which Amazon Echo devices you own, there are plenty of helpful accessories to enhance your Alexa experience. Here are some of our favorites to compliment your Echo, whichever generation you have.