This Echo Dot Smart Speaker for $20 Is the Early Prime Day Deal Every Parent Needs

Ever wish you had a personal assistant to help with parenting? While it won't change diapers or prepare snacks, the Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker can help with homework, call pediatricians and babysitters, remind you of birthdays and events, read a book to entertain the kids, order groceries, and much more. And right now, this best-selling smart speaker is just $19.99 during Amazon's early Prime Day sale.

If you don't have a prime membership, you can still take advantage of the sale price by signing up for a free 30-day trial membership, which will give you access to this and thousands of early Prime Day deals and even more bargains during the big sale event on July 12 and 13.

To buy: Amazon Echo Dot Smart Speaker, $19.99 (originally $49.99); amazon.com

The Echo Dot is a voice-controlled smart speaker that uses Alexa, Amazon's artificial intelligence personal assistant, to perform a wide range of activities. It's affordable, easy to set up and use, and can help you and your family complete many simple tasks around the house. At 3.5 inches high and about 4 inches wide, this smart little speaker features a simple yet sleek design that will fit nicely on any countertop or nightstand in your home.

Anything hands-free is helpful for parents, but the Echo Dot takes things one step further. You can use the Dot to stream music while you cook, read a book to your kids, do online shopping, check the weather, control your smart home, and even make announcements or calls to other Echo devices.

As a parent, protecting your kids' privacy is extremely important. Alexa and the Echo Dot have multiple built-in layers of privacy protection, including a "microphone off" button. You can also review or delete any voice recordings and even enable ultrasound motion detection to protect your home while you're away.

The Echo Dot (4th generation) has more than 380,000 five-star ratings on Amazon, including many from parents who love its ability to communicate with family members, help with homework, and even assist with bedtime. One parent who has bought four echo dots praised the drop-in feature for their kids' room. "It's like an intercom, which is cool for waking them up and calling them for dinner," they shared.

If there's a device that gets kids to wake up or do their chores, the Echo Dot takes the cake. A parent who recommends this device to all moms uses it to communicate with their son. "It is his new alarm clock…it helps me remind him to do things without having to (repeat) myself," they wrote. Another reviewer called it "a mom's best friend" because of all the tasks it helps them with, including communicating with the kids, creating shopping lists, and getting scheduled weather and traffic reports every morning.

The Echo Dot can also give parents a bit of a break by helping kids with their school assignments. One parent said that purchasing the Echo Dot is "money well spent" because it "keeps the kids entertained (and) helps with questions about homework." Another parent claimed it's the "best thing I've bought" and loves that it "helped my daughter with her Spanish and math."

While bedtime can be challenging for many parents, the Echo Dot has a few tricks up its sleeve to make things easier. One mother of two used it to help her daughters relax before bed, and said that they "fall asleep easily (as) it plays bedtime music and lullabies for them." And when this reviewer's niece came to visit, they asked the Echo Dot to "tell a children's story" and it played Peter Rabbit. "My niece was mesmerized," they exclaimed.

The Echo Dot can make parenting a bit easier in so many ways. But a deal this good is likely to sell out soon, so don't delay and take advantage of the $19.99 early Prime Day sale price. It's as close as you'll get to a personal parenting assistant!