How to engage with 6 to 10 month babies? One thing that usually works is to take them near a switch and keep turning on and off and showing them how the light turns on/off because of that. I can’t exactly tell whether they understand it, but it sure is a way to stimulate their little brains.
A few months back I had to use Amazon Alexa at work to do prototype a custom skill. Subsequently I ended up buying one for home. Then I learned that Alexa can be used to do home automation and so bought a few LIFX bulbs. With that, now I can turn on a light in my living room by saying “Alexa, turn on the living room light”. Of course, Alexa can be used for a few other things as well, such as “Alexa, play some music”, “Alexa, tell some kids jokes” and so on. We have a couple of Alarms in the morning to get my son ready to school and so when the alarm rings we say “Alexa, stop”.
So, the more we use Alexa, the more we keep saying out “Alexa”. Our 5 and half month daughter has been observing these and so she knows there is something about Alexa. She smiles (consistently so it’s not a random act) when we say “Alexa” and the blue ring of light glows.
With that context, today I got back to my turning the switch on/off experiment with a modern twist. I used Alexa instead of a regular wall switch to show my daughter how the light goes on and off. Not sure how much she got it yet, but will keep trying it.
I am wondering if the first word she is going to say will be “Alexa” instead of Mom or Dad.