“But Olivia pinched me,” your five-year-old exclaims. “Liam ate one of my Cheerios, first,” Olivia retorts. “Still, who’s in trouble more?” cries Liam. Hold the phone: You signed up to be a mom, not a mediator, so to settle this—and all future sibling quarrels—you do the smart thing: You ask Alexa to start a session of “Kids Court.”
Whoa, what the heck is Kids Court? Kids Court is one of the coolest Alexa skills we’ve stumbled upon since we first placed an Amazon Echo on our countertop. In a nutshell, it’s designed to help mediate fights between your kids.
How does it work? To use Kids Court, you first have to enable the skill in your Amazon account. (FYI, the first time you open it, parental permission is required.) Once you’ve done that—and the next time there’s a squabble—all you have to do is say: “Alexa, open Kids Court.” A trumpeter will sound and your kids will be prompted to rise as Judge Lexi (clever, right?) enters the virtual courtroom. From there, the defendant—in this case, Olivia—will be asked to plead her case.
Then, what happens? Liam (and his prosecutor) will have the chance to take the stage—and serve up witnesses if necessary—as he offers up his side of what took place. After final statements are made, Judge Lexi will give her verdict. (“Guilty!” she’ll bellow.) From there, she’ll prescribe a sentence (“Olivia should fill her mouth with water and try to sing a song while the music plays”). A 30-second tune will start giving Olivia a chance to carry out the task.