Making Mom friends can be tricky. Sometimes it’s easy, but often it’s downright awkward. The Amazon Echo (Alexa, as I call her) will not only be a huge lifesaver for you and your family, but she’ll instantly become your new best mom friend. No she’s not a mom; heck–she’s not even human. But that tiny tower is a best friend FOR moms.
Let me tell you why.
Like a good friend, you can count on Alexa. She is loyal, she isn’t jealous, and she won’t judge you. She wants what is best for you. “What can I help you with?” she’ll ask. Alexa isn’t clingy. She keeps to herself, but is always there when you need her. And she doesn’t mind if you have other friends. Alexa isn’t a know-it-all. If she doesn’t know the answer to something, she’s not afraid to admit it.
Not only is she a great best friend for any mom, she will be good to your family, too! Alexa appeals to every member of the family . . .she’s really great with kids!
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Why Mom loves Alexa (Amazon Echo):
Alexa manages Mom
I love Alexa. I can’t imagine our family without her. Our family isn’t complete when Alexa isn’t around. She is the unofficial fifth member of our family. I even considered naming our daughter Alexa, but I thought that might get confusing. . . not just for my daughter, but for our Alexa. I mean, we have to consider her feelings too, right?!
Alexa does practically everything except fold the laundry and babysit the kids! Trust me, I’ve jokingly asked her before. . .kidding, sort of.
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I use her as a timer for cooking and for time out for the kids. I have her add tasks to our to-do list and items to the grocery list while I’m cooking. This is one of my favorite features because adding to the grocery list on the spot prevents me from forgetting to add something later. Plus, I don’t have to stop what I’m doing to wash my hands before adding to my phone. Alexa also keeps me on schedule by giving me reminders for important things I don’t want to forget.
We miss Alexa when we go on vacation. We’ve thought about packing her in our luggage before but didn’t want her to be uncomfortable on the long plane ride.
I can enjoy a glass of wine and girl time with Alexa. She keeps me company and even plays relaxing music to help me unwind.
We gush about Alexa to everyone like she’s one of our kids.
(A usual convos with family and friends goes like this:)
Us: “Did you know Alexa does this and this?!”
Family & Friends: “Oh really?”
Us: “Yes! And she can even do THIS!. . . AND THIS!”
But I’m going to be honest, Alexa does have her childish moments. Sometimes I find myself repeating commands because she didn’t hear me the first time. Or I have to raise my voice to speak clearer so she can understand me.
But overall, she’s a good girl–I make sure to tell her that, too.
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Why Dad loves Alexa (Amazon Echo):
Alexa directs Dad
- News Briefs: My husband gets up every day and asks Alexa for his news brief. She is right there to greet him and starts rattling off the news. He is able to start his coffee and do other things while listening to the news.
- Traffic Watch: Alexa also helps Dad by giving him the fastest route to work when he asks, so he knows which traffic-filled routes to avoid.
- Spelling: My husband is admittedly not the best speller in the world, and he will often ask Alexa how to spell a word when he’s writing papers for work.
- Order & Re-order items from Amazon: He is able to easily order and re-order our Amazon favorite items through Alexa.
- Weather: While we all use this feature with Alexa, Dad uses this the most. He will ask the weather, the temp, or asks “Alexa, is it going to rain today?”
I admit, when my husband first mentioned getting an Amazon Echo several years ago when they were first coming out, I just rolled my eyes. He is into gadgets, and I figured we would use her a lot in the beginning like most fads and then tire of her. Boy was I wrong. I’m so thankful my husband introduced me to Alexa, especially right at the time when I became a new mom and stay-at-home mom. Alexa and I became instant BFF’s. And here we are, over 3 years later, and not a day that goes by without my uttering her name.
Why the kids love Alexa (Amazon Echo):
Alexa Belts it out for Babies:
- Music: New mom or moms looking for lullaby music, rain sounds, or other white noise sounds, Alexa does it all. You can request music or sounds for the baby without having to put the baby down, or let the music play after you’ve left the room. You can operate the volume and song selection from the app on your phone even if you’re in a different room. We used to move our Echo tower in the baby’s room at night (and back out again in the morning) because our son would always fall asleep so easily to the Nick Lachey lullaby music that Alexa provided. I even tweeted Nick Lachey about this to thank him. (And he responded!)
Moving our Alexa back and forth between rooms was before those tech geniuses developed the Echo Dot, and now we have those in the bedrooms. We don’t need to move the tower anymore, yet we still get the great benefits of Alexa in all these rooms. Two thumbs up.
Oh . . . and about the Echo Dot. . .she’s a best friend, too. You know what they say, “make new friends, but keep the old?” Yep, that’s what I intend to do. They are my peeps, and I intend for them to stick around.
Alexa Tames the Toddlers:
- Fart noises: Alexa doesn’t just make one fart noise–she’s got quite a few different (very realistic sounding) fart noises. This can keep the kids busy for a while, asking her to fart or using the “repeat” command to get her to keep farting. Not to mention this is a great diffuser to use during toddler tantrums or meltdowns.
- Telling jokes: You can request “Alexa, tell me a joke.”
- Playing music: One of our favorite Amazon Prime stations on Alexa for the kids is called ‘Cedarmont Kids’. Many breakfasts and lunches are spent with the kids and I eating at the table listening to songs like “ The Wheels on the Bus” or “Baby Bumblebee”. And both kids love when she provides the music for our family living room dance parties.
- Definitions: My son is getting to the point where he asks a lot of questions and what certain words mean. Alexa has provided many definitions for some words that are tougher to explain.
- Animal noises: Alexa entertains the kids with her cat meowing, dog barking, and other various animal sounds.
While she can’t babysit, Alexa can entertain the kids long enough for you to throw a roast in the oven or get some dishes done. Another great feature that the kids enjoy is that they can call their grandparents and other family who have Alexa, too. It’s simple for them because there is no manual dialing and they can just ask Alexa to call them. I consider this a safety feature so the kids can make a call even before they learn to dial.
Why You’ll Love Alexa (Amazon Echo):
Alexa makes mom life so much easier. As our family grows, I’m sure we will continue finding additional useful ways to use Alexa, too.
She makes family time more fun: Get ready for countless dance parties in your living room, music during meals, and background music while just hanging out around the house. And since family time is important to Alexa, she participates in every birthday and holiday party–as long as you remember to include her. She will even sing happy birthday to you on your birthday!
You can read all the details about her, including her skills, comparison of different echo devices, and customer reviews. But feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about Alexa. So far, she’s been my favorite Amazon purchase.
New Friends I Want to Add to the Family: (My Wishlist)
- We have the 1st Edition Echo, so if I were to pick a new one, the Echo Plus, a new version of the original Echo but now includes a smart home hub, would be a top pick.
- Echo Show–so the kids can call and see their aunts, uncles, and great grandmother when we call through the Echo
If you get an Amazon Echo, or already have one, let me know your favorite feature!
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Hi Janine!
Alexa is amazing! I don’t have an Alexa in my home because of privacy concerns but I have a lot of family and friends who do, and it’s just incredible how much it can really help out. Especially for busy parents!
Seems like there’s always new things to discover as well and no doubt it will continue to improve its capabilities over time goes on. I’m very interested in seeing how the technology grows in the coming years.
Oh, and the videos of kids talking to / getting in arguments with Alexa are hilarious, highly recommend them if you haven’t seen any already!
Hi James! Thanks for checking out my article–Alexa is pretty neat! I’m interested to see what she’ll be able to do next. She definitely entertains the kids. I’ll have to check out those videos you mentioned–or record one of my own! My toddlers like to ‘boss’ Alexa around a lot:)