How to Share Books on Kindle With Family
(Pocket-lint) - The Amazon Kindle has established itself as a leading reading device and where you have reading, you lot hopefully have eager children.
Although real books, on paper, besides as using public libraries, should be something that all children experience, there's no denying that a Kindle has something to offer.
But a Kindle device, hooked into an Amazon account, offers a bully deal of connectivity that you probably don't want your child to have. There's a web browser for starters, besides equally, potentially, your Amazon business relationship through which they can buy books with wanton carelessness.
Whether you're buying a new Kindle specifically for a kid, or letting them employ i you already take, here's what yous demand to consider when setting-upwards a Kindle for your kids. Here we're talking specifically about Kindle ebook readers, rather than Fire tablets, although in many cases, the same information applies. In that location'south likewise a specific Kindle Kids Edition which will also talk most below.
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Account decisions
A Kindle needs to be registered to an Amazon account - this is how you get the content onto it.
If you're getting a new Kindle specifically for a kid, then you need to decide whether you're going accept it linked to their ain Amazon account, or to your account.
A personal account?
If the child/Kindle has a personal account, and so that account needs an e-mail accost as well as a payment method, which probably isn't what you want to do. You could opt for a pre-paid credit bill of fare, however.
Using this means y'all can have a small value for some initial book purchases without having to worry well-nigh them elimination your depository financial institution account. You tin always top up that pre-paid card for hereafter purchases, merely this is a rather convoluted approach.
Keep it on your account
If y'all opt to accept the Kindle on your business relationship (or have a child use your Kindle/old Kindle/a Kindle Kids Edition), then yous'll have to make sure you use parental controls to ensure they don't spend on your account, which makes things much simpler. At that place there is Amazon Kids and Kids+ - previously chosen Fire for Kids or FreeTime - to consider every bit well.
This is how Amazon has really designed this organization to take place, specifically to cater for kids in an Amazon household.
Parental controls
Kindle has plenty of parental controls which is good place to kickoff. If y'all're giving your child a Kindle, you can opt to shut off the major access points to the net: spider web browser, Kindle Store and Cloud.
Each of these can exist disabled, with parental controls getting password protection. That means you can, for example, disable the web browser and Kindle Store on that device, merely go out admission to Cloud. Cloud is where your Kindle purchases are stored when not downloaded to a device - it's your complete online catalogue of content.
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You can shut everything off, and then yous know that your child simply has access to the content on the device and can't go exploring. The Kindle is still continued to the internet, there but aren't any admission points from the device.
This is a ameliorate selection that simply turning on Aeroplane mode, because books volition still sync, and importantly, you can still send books to the Kindle from the Kindle Shop on your reckoner's browser or phone. You can also send documents to the Kindle using the email address assigned to your Kindle device, for example coursework packs from schoolhouse.
This means you lot tin can put the Kindle in the easily of your child and buy books and have them delivered to their device to read. They volition just appear on the home page.
The problem with all of this is that - if your Kindle is registered to your business relationship - then all the books yous ain or purchase volition and so be available to download to your child's Kindle through the library, which is where Amazon Kids comes into play.
Amazon Kids
Amazon has a arrangement for children called Amazon Kids. This is, essentially, a locked downward area specifically for them. Using Amazon Kids ways y'all can have "your" adult/parental side of the device fully continued and "their" side safely locked down with only their appropriate content visible.
The name recently changed to Amazon Kids and it might be some time earlier this is reflected across all devices, so if yous see Fire for Kids or FreeTime, that'south what it'due south talking about - the kids' area.
Amazon Kids lets yous setup a child account (or accounts) and so assign books to them from your collection. Using Kids means you're ownership those books on your account and sharing them, rather than buying them through an Amazon account in your child'southward name.
Importantly, however, in one case you're in Amazon Kids, you need a password to get out, so it's a condom area for your child.
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From inside Amazon Kids the navigation controls work very much as they practice elsewhere, so yous can still get home, search, and alter some settings, merely it's all behind that rubber barrier. There are awards and you have a reading target to encourage children to read regularly, if you have a child who works meliorate with these types of motivations.
Progress through books will also be tracked separately from your reading. If you both want to read The Hobbit, for example, your kid's progress will be tracked separately from yours. If you simply used the same account and were reading the same book, information technology would be constantly trying to sync that book to the furthest read page, which isn't ideal when two dissever people are reading it.
Importantly, unlike only locking downwards a device with the parental control settings above, y'all still accept to assign that content to Amazon Kids for your child - and this is a primal point. From a applied point of view, yous can send content to a Kindle devices from a browser - so if you lot're shopping in the Kindle Shop when you purchase something you tin elect to send information technology to that device.
Still, it'south only and then on that device, not in the Kids surface area for a kid. That and so has to be washed on the device itself past the parent. You accept to log out of the kid's area, select the books from the library you want to add to Amazon Kids and and so return to the Kids area to see all those books in a prophylactic environment once again.
Cleverly, you tin turn on Amazon Kids on a device and get out information technology in that state near of the fourth dimension. Restarting the Kindle from with in the Kids area sees it returning to Kids: the merely way out is to plug in the password.
The other point to note nearly setting up Amazon Kids, is that you're basically creating those children as users on your account - and those tin can and so be used on other Amazon devices too, like the Fire tablet.
We've mentioned at that place are 2 versions of the Kids service - and Kids+ volition give you child access to a range of content selected by Amazon that'south within an appropriate age range, and so that kid can find and select their own books. This makes it easier because you don't accept to so allocate titles to that child for them to read - but while the content is safe, in that location'due south no knowing if it's content your child actually wants to read - we talk near that a little more beneath.
Households and Family Library
Family Library is a Kindle feature that let you share content with family members. It'southward a convenient fashion for you to share or manage the content you have and you only have to purchase things once.
To have a Family unit Library, you need to create a Household. This can consist of 2 adults, each with their ain Amazon account, and upwards to four children. These child accounts are setup using Amazon Kids.
Every bit a Household tin't have more than two Amazon accounts (notionally 2 parents) it is a disadvantage to have a child's Kindle with its ain Amazon account, as that third business relationship tin can't be accommodated and yous tin can't share content through the Family unit Library. (Of class not all Households will have 2 parents, or might not have 2 parents who desire to share content.)
However, once you have a Family Library setup, the two adult accounts can manage the content the children get admission to. That means one adult tin can purchase the content and the other tin can add or remove it from their ain business relationship if they need to.
Once you accept adults and children in a Household, it's really easy to manage content through a browser. In your business relationship settings > Manage Your Content and Devices you can meet all your Kindle books and who in your household gets admission to them.
What about the Amazon Kindle Kids Edition?
Amazon launched the Kindle Kids Edition very much post-obit the model that information technology has used for its Fire Kids Edition tablet - it'south a standard Kindle, with a case, 2-year warranty and a 1-twelvemonth Amazon Kids+.
The device itself is the entry-level Kindle and in that location are no software differences on this device to whatsoever other Kindle - it all uses the same software features that we've talked about above. That potentially means that you can salve yourself some cash by opting for this Kindle instead of the specific Kids Edition - it is about $/£30 cheaper.
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However, what the Kids Edition does is bundle in these additional extras. The case is probably worth about $/£20, while the no-quibble warranty will be of interest if you have kids who are probable to intermission it. Then you have Amazon Kids+, which gives you a 1-yr subscription to kids content. This has usually costs from $2.99 or £ane.99 a month - and then if that'southward the mode you lot desire to go, there's some advantage in buying into the Kids Edition bundle.
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Amazon Kids+
Beyond the hardware and the software on these devices, there'due south also a subscription option that Amazon offers. Amazon Kids+ is similar supercharging the content on your Kindle and giving you access to a range of books for your child that are appropriate for their historic period.
There'southward a cost - and the costs vary based on whether you're a Prime subscriber and how many kids yous want to include - as well equally across varying durations, then there are lots of price options.
But the huge reward that these subscriptions offer is that they give the child access to this content, so they can browse and observe things to read. If you have an older child that means you don't have to find all the books, purchase them and and so give your child admission - they can just discover stuff to read at their leisure.
The best thing near these subscriptions is that they universally apply across both Kindle and Fire tablets (so on the tablet yous can access movies or games that are age advisable) and you tin can then basically leave them to information technology.
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What'due south the best kid Kindle setup?
The range of options and approaches means that settings can exist tailored to the age of your child and how much autonomy y'all want them to have. For the younger children, you'll desire their Kindle registered to your Amazon account, but with all the parental controls engaged, so there'southward no access to your account, Cloud or the web browser.
Then y'all'll desire to use Amazon Kids for that child. If they are getting their "ain" Kindle device, you can so remotely control the content they become access to. You tin gift books by simply ownership them and assigning them to their device, just you lot'll have to so manually add them to the kid'south surface area on the device itself.
You remain in control of content at all times and can easily remove books that they've finished with or outgrown. Importantly, if you're buying it through your account, it'south your content and you can then share information technology with younger members of the family. Equally, as a child grows older, using a Household, you lot can still share older content in the futurity you might have bought for yourself.
Beyond that, if you have avid readers in the family, then a subscription to the Kids+ service is well worth it. Kids' books are expensive and they will often read them in a day or so - so the ongoing access to lots of books is a definite advantage.
Most of the features are available on contempo Kindle models, but sadly aren't yet available through the Kindle apps and some older devices. You can check full compatibility hither.
Source: https://www.pocket-lint.com/parenting/news/amazon-kindle/132127-how-to-setup-an-amazon-kindle-for-children-kindle-for-kids-and-freetime-explained
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