Your Phoenyx is here! Setup only takes about 2–5 minutes, and after that your child can pretty much just turn Phoenyx on and start talking. Here are a few things that are helpful to know for your first week.
Getting set up
First, download the My Phoenyx app and create your parent account. The app will walk you through connecting Phoenyx to Wi-Fi and setting up your child’s profile and language.
To turn Phoenyx on, squeeze the button inside the plush. You can feel it through the outside, so you don’t need to open anything up. You’ll hear a little ding when Phoenyx wakes up.
From there, your child can start talking.
When they’re done, they can just say “Bye bye, Phoenyx!” and Phoenyx will say goodbye and go to sleep. You can also squeeze the button again to turn it off.
If you’re ever wondering whether Phoenyx is awake and listening or asleep, you can check its status in the parent app.
What can you do with Phoenyx?
Honestly, you can start with “hi.”
Your child doesn’t need to choose a lesson or know what they’re supposed to do. They can talk to Phoenyx about their day, their toys, something that happened at school, or whatever they’re currently thinking about.
If they need some ideas, try:
- “Phoenyx, can we play a game?”
- “Tell me a story about a dinosaur.”
- “Can we sing a song?”
- “Tell me a joke!”
- “What did you do today?”
- “Phoenyx, do you want to draw with me?”
Stories, songs, games, jokes and regular conversations are all built into the experience, so kids can move between them naturally. They might start by asking for a story, interrupt halfway through to tell Phoenyx something completely unrelated, and then decide they want to play a game instead. That’s totally fine.
They don’t have to sit there and just talk
This is probably our biggest tip.
Some of the nicest conversations we’ve seen happen when a child is already doing something else.
Try putting Phoenyx next to them while they draw. They can tell Phoenyx what they’re drawing, talk about the colors, ask what they should add next, or just chat while their hands are busy.
The same thing works with toys. If your child is building a tower, playing with cars, making something out of Play-Doh, or setting up an elaborate stuffed-animal situation on the floor, Phoenyx can just join in.
You don’t need to announce that it’s time to practice Spanish or Mandarin. Sometimes it’s easier to put Phoenyx into playtime that’s already happening.
Where should you use Phoenyx?
At home is easiest. Phoenyx needs to hear what your child is saying, so it works best indoors without a TV blasting or lots of people talking over each other.
But it doesn’t have to stay at home.
You can connect Phoenyx to your phone’s hotspot, which means it can come along in the car too. We’ve found car rides are actually a pretty natural time for stories, songs and games, especially when there’s not much else going on.
As long as Phoenyx has an internet connection and can hear your child reasonably well, they can talk.
When should my child use Phoenyx?
There’s no set schedule you need to follow. A lot of families just work Phoenyx into parts of the day when their child already has some downtime.
That might be after school while they’re drawing or playing, in the car, or before bed when they can ask Phoenyx for a story. It can help to pick one of those moments and use Phoenyx around the same time each day, especially when you’re first getting started.
And it doesn’t have to be a long session. Even 5–10 minutes gives your child a chance to actually speak the language a little every day.
See what they’re talking about
In the parent app, you can open the transcript view and read your child’s conversations with Phoenyx.
You’ll see what your child said and what Phoenyx said back, so you don’t need to sit next to them and listen to every conversation. It’s also a nice way to see what they’ve been talking about and how they’re using the language.
The app is also where you can check whether Phoenyx is currently awake or asleep, manage your child’s profile and settings, and review or delete past conversations.