Life
Amazon's Subscription Boxes Of Children's Books & STEM Toys Are Legit Awesome
There are a lot of great reasons why subscription boxes are great: The excitement of discovering new brands and products, the convenience of having items curated for you, and if you're gift shopping, the fact that you're getting someone a gift that keeps on giving. Kids and adults, for the most part, enjoy receiving curated boxes, and if you're a Prime member, there are a few Amazon subscription boxes for kids (and one upcoming for women) that may intrigue you.
I'm a frequent Amazon shopper, but Amazon's in-house subscription services only recently came on my radar while attending the 2019 Mom 2.0 Summit in Austin, Texas, where Amazon was a premier sponsor. For bookworms, there's the Prime Book Box that delivers books for babies and children up to age 12. Playful kids will love receiving a new toy in the STEM Club box every one to three months; parents will appreciate that their kid is engaging with a STEM toy that's designed to educate and entertain. For tablet users, there's FreeTime Unlimited, a digital subscription service that offers thousands of age-appropriate programming. And for women who love clothes and accessories, Prime Stylist (a subscription service of a curated box of clothes and accessories) is currently being tested, according to Investor Place.
Full disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of the subscription model in general because I'm never happy with everything in the box and the return process (if available), is not quite... stress-free. However, I've always had a seamless experience making returns to Amazon (and I've sent back a lot of packages in my years as a Prime member), so as a mom who doesn't need anything else added to her place, I'm more inclined to try these services because I'm not fretting about the return process.
Whether you're all about that subscription box lifestyle, or you're the type of customer who won't try it if you can't return it, here are some offerings from Amazon to explore.
Prime Book Box
Books are the one thing parents consistently, willingly, and even enthusiastically purchase for their children from the time they are newborns. Prime Book Box is a $20 subscription box filled with two or four books (ages 0-2 will receive four board books, while kids ages 3-12 will get two hardcover books). It's delivered every one, two, or three months to your front door. Once you plug in your child’s interests, a team of Amazon editors hand-select age-appropriate titles that include classics and under-the-radar options, introducing your child to new authors and series, and giving you both something new to chat about at your next playdate. Before your box ships, you’ll receive an email listing the titles included in your upcoming package, so you have a chance to swap any out that you already have or aren't interested in before the box is dispatched. And of course there’s a price incentive of subscribing: up to 40 percent off the list price.
STEM Club
The last thing you want to buy for your child is more toys, but parents always seem to bend the rules if they’ve got an educational spin on them. Like Prime Book Box, STEM Club costs $20 per box and ships every one to three months, depending on the frequency you opt for. It caters to children ages 3-13. One perk that frequent Amazon shoppers will appreciate is that because the online retailer has your shopping history saved, you won't get an item that you have purchased before. Another perk? Letting someone tell you what the best and most popular STEM toys are as opposed to having to go down a rabbit hole of research yourself. That and up to 20 percent off the list price.
FreeTime Unlimited
If you’re already using Freetime Unlimited you’ll appreciate the more streamlined design of their updated interface and and relatively recent addition of Audible books for kids. There are over 20,000 programs available on FreeTime and it's easy to change the age settings from the tablet itself or from any computer where you can log into your account from. They're also making a big effort to make their Spanish options (books and video) more robust. And before you get too excited, FreeTime itself is not necessarily free, but affordable considering how much content you'll have access to.
Prime Stylist
There’s not much we know about Amazon’s new subscription wardrobe service, Prime Stylist, yet, but it's going to be an extension of Prime Wardrobe, where you have a window to try on multiple pieces and send the losers back before they charge you for what you keep.
