For Christmas, we gave Ella a new Kids Kindle (it was released at the end of October 2019) and after I mentioned it in my annual post about what we were giving the girls for Christmas, I got SO many questions about it.
I won’t pretend that some of my motivation for giving her the Kindle for Kids was so that I could be knowledgeable about it, and now that she’s been using it (daily) for the last six weeks, I’m excited to share with you what we’ve thought.
Everything You Need to Know About the Kindle for Kids
The first thing you need to know about the Kindle for kids is that it is NOT the same as the Amazon Fire Kids Edition. The Fire is a tablet – which means you have access to videos, games, and apps on it.
The Kindle for Kids is an e-reader so there are no videos, no apps, no games, no ads, no messaging.
Like the Kindles for grown-ups, they are designed specifically for reading and nobody does an e-reader better than Amazon.
The second question I’ve been getting non-stop is “What’s the difference between a Kindle for Kids and a regular Kindle?”
The most basic Kindle is $89.99 and includes ads that show up on your home screen. If you want it without ads, it’ll cost you $109.99 which is exactly the same as the cost of a Kindle for Kids (which has no ads and no option to HAVE them for a lower cost). This is the Kindle I got for Christmas – without ads – so it’s been helpful to be able to compare them.
The Kindle for Kids also comes with an included case, which the regular Kindle doesn’t (my case was an additional $30. For the record, this is my third Kindle and the first time I’ve ever had a case. I don’t know that they’re REALLY necessary, but for a kid, it feels more important).
The Kindle for Kids ALSO comes with a year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, which includes thousands of books your child can read or listen to on their Kindle. You can also use Amazon FreeTime Unlimited to watch videos or use apps on a Fire Tablet or listen to audiobooks through an Echo or Echo dot.
And the Kindle for Kids comes with a 2 year warranty – if anything happens to your Kindle during the first two years, Amazon will replace it for you, no questions asked.
So unless you’re willing to get a Kindle WITH ads for your child, I think the Kindle for Kids is a better option because for the price you get a cover, the warranty, and a year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited.
What age would you recommend a Kindle for?
Like all things, it’s VERY dependent on your child. For some kids, having an e-reader may encourage them to read more. For others, it may be more hassle than it’s worth. I plan to get Ani one for her eighth birthday at the end of the year – I think she’ll love it! (And I also think she’d love it now).
What happens after your year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited expires?
You can choose to renew it or just buy or borrow the books you want.
Can you read picture books on a Kindle for Kids?
Yes, you can. But it’s a black and white only screen, so there won’t be any color in the pictures. If your primary reading is going to be picture books, I don’t know that you’ll really want a Kids Kindle (a tablet like the Amazon Fire HD for Kids is probably a better option).
Will my Kindle books show up on my child’s Kid Kindle?
No, you have to approve every book that’s added to their library (outside of the FreeTime Unlimited books), so only ones you choose from your content library will appear.
Can you borrow eBooks from the library and have them sent to a Kid Kindle?
Yes! I’d say 85% of Ella’s Kindle reading is with library books. You’ll have them sent to your Amazon account and then you just add them manually to their library. And obviously, this is only for library eBooks that are in Kindle format.
Can you use Kindle Unlimited with a kid Kindle?
Yes! Just find the books you’ve checked out from Kindle Unlimited in your content library and then add the ones you want to their account. They won’t have access to the books from Kindle Unlimited that you’re reading on your own (unless you choose to share them).
Can you listen to audiobooks on a Kindle?
Yes, but you’ll need bluetooth enabled headphones to do so!
Does the Kindle give off blue light?
Yes. It’s pretty low on the spectrum of devices as far as how much blue light it emits, but basically every device has some blue light. If you’ve used a Kindle, you’ll be familiar with the matte look of the screen when it’s lit, rather than the bright light of a tablet or computer or phone.
Can you set time limits on the Kids Kindle so they don’t stay up reading all night?
Unfortunately, I can’t find anywhere to do that! If you find it, let me know!
Any other questions I didn’t answer? Let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to help you find the answer!
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Photos by Heather Mildenstein
Would this be good for an adult who wants a new kindle and a cover? Our family has 2 old-style kindle paper whites, before they were waterproof. We want to add one more kindle and definitely want a cover for it. We don’t really care about ads, as they’ve never bothered us on the old kindles. Thanks for tour help!
Totally! It’s exactly the same hardware as the baseline kindle. Basically instead of paying for ads, you can pay for the cover to be included.
This is so helpful! I’d love more information on the audiobooks. So, does Audible work on it? Do you think it would work with a Bluetooth speaker – it sounds like it can’t play sound by itself with a built in speaker? We have Fires and iPads for our kids but are trying to scale back on how much access they have to other apps/programs. I am dying for something that just plays audiobooks (and of course print books would be fine). We don’t want an Echo. Wondering if this plus a Bluetooth speaker would be a good fit?
Audible says it works with a Kindle reader as long as you have a bluetooth speaker! https://audible.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9348/~/how-can-i-pair-a-bluetooth-device-with-my-kindle-e-reader%3F
But frankly, if you’re mostly looking for audiobooks, you might as well JUST get the bluetooth speaker and then stream audiobooks from your phone. No reason to get the Kindle unless you’re excited about the e-reader itself.
What kindle did you end up getting for yourself?
Just the basic one! It’s this one: https://amzn.to/2OSHwlv
Since it comes with the year of FreeTime, can you use the parental controls on the FreeTime App? Our kids got the Kids Fire for Christmas because I specifically wanted them to have access to church apps, though sometimes I think a kindle might have been better. Anyway, there are time limits that can be set through the FreeTime app, and so their devices lock at whatever time I set. I don’t know if it works with a Kindle, or just with the Kindle Fire. Maybe someone else knows?
Supposedly the FreeTime time limits work, but I haven’t been able to get them to work despite having the help desk walk me through it multiple times. I also have asked all my readers and so far haven’t had a single person report that they’ve been able to make them work either.
You can NOT set time limits or “bedtimes” on the Kindle Kids Edition. When you go into the parent dashboard it states that. I am NOT happy about this, as this was one of the main features I was looking forward to. My 9 and 14 year old sons share a room (their choice, and has lasted almost 4 months now). They go to bed at the same time, but I would love to be able to let the older one read for an extra half hour before going to sleep. The problem is, these boys LOVE to read and don’t have the self control to stop at an appointed time. They also know what time they’re allowed to turn on their light and start reading in the morning–if they wake up earlier they have to try and go back to sleep. If they had a Kindle they could read without turning on the light (and thus likely getting caught) I wouldn’t be surprised if they were up reading at all hours. I know some people would be happy to have their kids reading at any time as long as they are reading, but for my boys they have to have limits or they would not get nearly as much sleep.
One of my biggest hangups is that I don’t want my child to not want to also read physical books. Have you run into this at all? Does Ella go back and forth still between the two? I’d love to know your thoughts.
We haven’t had this issue at all. I’d say, if anything, she reads more overall because she has access to books that weren’t available to her in paper book form. She reads from both kinds of books pretty much every day!
I’m debating this for my 5 year old. She loves “reading” graphic novels and she has been reading on our iPad but I don’t want her having that much access to all the other stuff (plus it is old and has an incredibly poor battery). But I don’t know if it is worth it when she’s so young. She’s pretty responsible so I think she could handle it and would read all the time with it but I’m still torn and undecided. Decisions decisions decisions…..
I’m confused if there is a light on it to read at night? does it shine from the top like a book light or does it come from the screen?
It’s backlit so it comes from the screen.
With the Kids+ unlimited, can you approve the books before kids read them, or do they just have access to all the books with the age limit you set? There are some books in their game range that I’m not OK with them reading.
Game = age
My 7 year old daughter got a kids kindle for Christmas and takes it everywhere with her and reads every spare second she can find. I would like to know if anyone has been able to fine a way to see a list of books that have been read. I know I can go in the parent dashboard and see the last 3 opened books. Can anyone help with this? Thanks
Is there a way to disable purchases on the kindle? My son accidentally bought an e book once and now he’s accidentally signed up for Audible.
Is he in FreeTime/Kids mode? Because there shouldn’t be purchase options in there.