Children’s screen time is a growing concern for parents, as kids spend more time each day staring at phones, tablets, computers and TVs. Audio is one alternative, but it’s usually tied to screens as well. Enter the Ellodee Sound Companion – a kid-focused console that’s all about audio.
The Sound Companion looks and largely works like a smart speaker, which kids can use to play a variety of audio entertainment like music, stories and educational content. Ellodee has curated a library of over 60 million songs, podcasts and audiobooks, which can be downloaded to the Sound Companion.
Once on the device, it’s easy for kids of all ages to pick what they want to listen to. The Wheel is a ring of six colorful buttons on the top that can each be linked to a piece of content, whether that’s an album, a playlist, a podcast episode or an audiobook. There is one small screen in the middle but don’t worry – it’s only used to display album art and help kids navigate the menus and adjust settings.
Using the Ellodee app, parents can choose and download “Wheels” of content – sets of six pieces of audio. Each Sound Companion can hold four Wheels, so that’s 24 channels of entertainment for the kids to pick from at any time, using a knob on the right-hand side of the device.
The Ellodee team curates new Wheels every month, which can be downloaded to your kids’ Sound Companion on demand or automatically when they’re released. Alternatively, parents can browse the library themselves and put together their own Wheels. All that means parents can control exactly what their kids are listening to – and kids have agency over when they listen.
Perhaps best of all, there are no microphones or cameras on the device at all, and there’s no accessible internet connection. Parents can breathe easy letting their kids use the Sound Companion unsupervised, without fear of their kids being monitored or exposed to the dangers that can lurk online.
The Ellodee Sound Companion is designed to grow with kids too, from ages one to 14. It can help cultivate healthier habits around technology from an early age, reducing screen time without reducing the fun.
Find out how to get the fun started with the Ellodee Sound Companion here.