Some parents regard bedtime as a true challenge. Others love the ritual of reading stories and tucking in tots, but might still appreciate some help with the evening wind-down. On Wednesday, Amazon launched Sleep Studio, a new feature available on its line of Echo smart speakers, focused on bedtime routines for parents and kids.
Sleep Studio includes bedtime stories, relaxing sounds and guided meditations sourced from platforms such as Headspace, Moshi and Calm. And parents can curate playlists and control sleep schedules through the parent dashboard in the Amazon Kids mobile app or website.
Once a sleep schedule is programmed, the Echo speaker will sound a 30-minute wind-down reminder to get things started. The feature can also be started manually by telling Alexa to "play Sleep Studio."
If your child has an Echo Glow speaker with a nightlight option, Sleep Studio can be programmed with color-coded lights to signal when it's time to go to sleep and when it's time to rise and shine. "Healthy sleep habits are critical for kids, but we know bedtime isn't always easy," Eric Kuhn, general manager of Amazon Kids, said in a statement. "We designed Sleep Studio to make bedtime a little easier for everyone: simple scheduling, stories and sounds kids love, all on a device families already have at home. When kids sleep better, parents sleep better, too."
You can't buy Sleep Studio as a standalone Echo feature. It's only included with an Amazon Kids Plus subscription, a subscription service that provides child-friendly entertainment and parental controls across Amazon devices, which costs $6 a month.
New users can try Amazon Kids Plus free for one month on any compatible device, while select Echo Kids speakers include a free six- or 12-month subscription, depending on the model. Echo Pop Kids devices include six months of Amazon Kids Plus, while Echo Dot Kids and Echo Show 5 Kids both come with a full year.