Your Amazon Echo just unlocked a free upgrade to get your baby to sleep faster, here's how it works

With the introduction of "Tumbles and Stripes", Amazon conducted research that showed 25% of UK parents regularly face difficulties getting their children to bed — with 12% reporting consistent challenges.

These bedtime struggles are taking a significant toll on caregivers across Britain, with nearly half (48%) experiencing increased stress levels. The impact extends beyond the evening hours, as 52% of parents report delaying their own sleep due to children's bedtime issues.

"Tumbles and Stripes" tells the story of two young tigers and their mother as they go about their own bedtime routine, inspired by Vogue Williams' six-year-old son Theodore's love of animals. Professor Helen Ball worked to ensure the story incorporates key sleep-inducing elements, including soothing themes and repetition.

The narrative decreases in volume and focuses on the passage of time, helping children process daily events. According to the latest scientific thinking, these elements enable younger listeners to identify with the characters' pre-sleep rituals, supporting both physical and mental preparation for bedtime.

As you'd expect with Amazon Echo, this voice-activated can coordinate with other smart home gadgets to dim the lights in the room and transition to brown noise at the end of the bedtime story. For those who don't know, brown noise is like white noise — but lower and deeper. It can often sound like the roar of a river or wind.

Vogue Williams said: "I know first-hand that getting the little ones to sleep is no easy feat, and parents really do need all the help they can get when it comes to bedtime for their kids.

‘Tumbles and Stripes’ on Alexa is a super accessible helping hand for parents experiencing these nighttime struggles and it’s been a gamechanger in our house... so give it a go!"

You'll need to make sure you've got Alexa-enabled smart home devices, like Wi-Fi-enabled lightbulbs, to enjoy this additional functionality. Amazon regularly offers its Echo smart speaker in a bundle with a Philips Hue lightbulb.

Speaking about the roll-out of the new feature, Professor Helen Ball told GB News: "A consistent and effective bedtime routine is crucial for any child, and in turn will make parent’s lives easier too.

"Through working with Amazon and Vogue, we’ve managed to curate a story that incorporates scientifically backed components that will lead children to a peaceful sleep, which is even more effective when paired with the all-new bedtime routine on Alexa."

The launch comes ahead of the February half term — a period identified as a significant sleep disruptor for British families. During these breaks, children often have more energy and show greater resistance to sleep due to disrupted daily routines and reduced mental and physical challenges, research shows.

From today, the all-new "Tumbles and Stripes" bedtime story and bedtime routine can be accessed from all Alexa-enabled devices, including the Echo and Echo Show lineup.

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If you're looking for more content, there's an optional Amazon Kids+ subscription that unlocks unlimited access to the sleep sounds skill and lullabies specifically for children. This includes kid-friendly books, videos, apps, audible stories and more across all of their compatible devices. Kids+ starts from £4.99.

For a limited time, Amazon offers a one-month free trial of Kids+ that unlocks everything bundled with the subscription. Cancel anytime during the trial period and you won't be charged, but you'll still be able to enjoy all of the features across your devices.