Let your child press play themselves. A soft lock, not a real one.

Our usual advice is “screen off, story on”: press play, then lock the phone and hand it over, or set it nearby. A locked phone is safest in little hands. Kid mode is for when your child is old enough to want to press play, and pause, themselves, with a simple screen built just for that.

Starting kid mode

On the listen page, look for “Want your child to press play themselves? Set up kid mode.” at the bottom. Tapping it shows instructions for your device, iPhone and iPad point you to Guided Access, Android points you to Screen Pinning, Amazon Fire tablets point you to an Amazon Kids profile. Chromebooks and computers are told honestly that there is no real lock available; a phone or tablet is the safer choice. Confirm you have set up the real lock, where one exists, then tap “Start listening.”

What your child sees

A single, simple screen: the book’s title, “for” the listener’s name, “read by” whoever recorded it, one big play and pause button, and a progress bar. Nothing else to tap, browse, or accidentally leave from.

Its limits, stated honestly

Kid mode is a soft lock built into the page itself. It goes fullscreen and catches the back button or a back swipe so a stray tap does not carry your child away from the story. That is genuinely helpful, but it is not the same as a lock built into the phone’s operating system, and a determined child can still find a way out, especially with the home button, an app-switcher gesture, or by pressing the side button.

For the closest thing to a real lock, set up Guided Access (iPhone or iPad) or Screen Pinning (Android) first, following the instructions kid mode shows you. That is the phone itself doing the locking, which nothing on a web page can fully replace. On a Chromebook or computer, there is no true lock at all, so stay nearby or choose a phone or tablet instead.

Exiting kid mode

Press and hold the “Hold to exit” button at the bottom of the screen for about a second and a half. It is deliberately slow, so a small child’s quick tap will not end the story by accident.

Tips for calm listening

• The screen will not dim or lock itself while the story is playing.
• Turn on Do Not Disturb first. A notification popping up can pull the phone out of full screen and interrupt the story.
• Try it once yourself before handing the phone over, so you know exactly what your child will see and how to exit.
• A quiet, cozy spot still helps more than any setting we can build.

Still stuck? Send us a note.