Parents can use Alexa to 'help kids eat their greens and go to bed on time'
If you're struggling to get your child to go to bed on time, brush their teeth or eat their vegetables, mum Tori Graham may have the answer thanks to the helping hand of beloved characters
A mum claims she has a hack that will "change the lives" of fellow parents - with the help of an Amazon Alexa device. If you're struggling to get your child to eat their vegetables or go to bed on time, Tori Graham says Bluey is now on hand via the gadget to offer some words of encouragement.
Bluey has taken children's TV by storm on CBeebies and Disney+ since the Blue Heeler puppy arrived on screens in 2021. And, even if your kid isn't a fan of Bluey, the same trick can be applied using the voice of other characters including Spider-Man and Sesame Street's Elmo. Explaining how it's helped her, Tori took to TikTok where she shared a video of herself asking Alexa "What is Bluey having for dinner tonight?"
"Bluey is having sausage and mash with broccoli for dinner tonight," responded the device, much to Tori's delight. "That's the hack," she beamed, admitting she can't take the credit for the assistance.
Explaining how it works, she continued: "You can use your Alexa app to create different questions and then change the answers. Highlighting another example, she asked Alexa "What is Bluey doing tonight?"
It swiftly responded: "Bluey is having a bath and getting ready for bed because she has school in the morning."
Tori also enabled her Alexa to encourage her child to brush his teeth, joking: "He might not listen to me, but he'll listen to Bluey!"
She closed in a caption: "Now my ADHD brain just has to remember to update what Bluey is having for dinner every night so I can get Benny to eat without arguing with me!"
Amazed by the trick, another parent responded: "Off to set 100 questions about what Spiderman is up to. He's about to be one very well behaved Spidey."
Another mum hailed: "You have just saved my little bit of remaining sanity, thank you." A third replied: "Spending the next two hours doing this as Alexa is my son best friend!"
A fourth also confessed: "I’ve had Alexa for years and I never knew this! I’m changing to this right now!"
To implement the hack, open the Alexa app and select "More" followed by "Routines" and "Create New Routine". Then, in "When You Say" enter the question [without a question mark] you'd like to ask Alexa - for example, "What is Bluey/Spider-Man having for dinner tonight".
Then select "Alexa Will" followed by "Alexa Says" and "Customized" and type in what you would like Alexa to respond, such as "Bluey is having a sausage and mash with broccoli for dinner". Hit save and after around a minute it'll be ready to go.
Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by signing up to our daily and breaking newsletter. Sign up to our breaking news newsletter here.
Follow us on X @LivECHONews or on Bluesky @liverpoolecho.co.uk - official Liverpool ECHO accounts - real news in real time. We're also on Facebook/theliverpoolecho - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.