News

Amazon launches Parent Dashboard to boost Fire for Kids service

Parents will be able to clearly see what their children have been playing, watching and reading online.
Parents will be able to clearly see what their children have been playing, watching and reading online. Parents will be able to clearly see what their children have been playing, watching and reading online.

Parents can now monitor their children’s online activities more closely using a new Parent Dashboard unveiled by Amazon.

The tech giant has created the online tool to work with its Amazon Fire for Kids service, which enables parents to follow what their children can see and use online.

Parents can set time limits on gaming and video watching, as well as set target times for the amount of reading and educational content that must be viewed each day, all of which can now be tracked from the dashboard.

Parent Dashboard
Parent Dashboard
(Amazon)

The Fire for Kids service includes a paid subscription option, which offers unlimited access to approved content from Disney, the BBC and others.

Amazon has also introduced what it calls Discussion Cards, talking points for books, videos and games within the Fire for Kids service that parents can use to engage with their children on that topic.

Discussion Cards
Discussion Cards
(Amazon)

The tech firm’s director of kids and family, Kurt Beidler, said: “As kids learn and play more independently with their tablets, we want to provide parents with more ways to join in that digital discovery.

“Discussion Cards equip parents with information about an Amazon Fire for Kids book, video, educational app, or game their child is enjoying, and provide open-ended questions that parents can ask kids to spark conversations – and avoid the dreaded one-word response.

“Discussion Cards also offer ideas for real-world activities families can do together, like participating in community service or working on an art project – all inspired by what kids are doing in Fire for Kids.”

The dashboard, which goes live in the UK today, will provide parents with a daily report of their children’s activity within their Fire for Kids profile and will include lists of websites visited and videos watched.