We wish this had been around when our daughter, Mackenzie, was little. Instead of being glued to my iPad or phone (we set limits of an hour per day), we would have given her a Jooki, a screen-free music and story player for 3 + years. As repeated studies have shown, children are getting hooked on screens earlier and earlier and it’s detrimental to their brain development.
Jooki is the smart music player that lets kids choose and listen to music and stories with what’s called ‘ToyTouch™ Technology’. Kids activate a new song or story with the tokens or toys. Parents do the initial setup, and the older children will learn how to set up their own playlists, podcasts, or storytime. (It is integrated with Spotify.) So instead of hearing your youngster plead with you to play ‘Let It Go’ for the billionth time, or replay the same fairy tale another time, they have control. Imagine how much they will love that! (As soon as she could speak, our daughter’s favorite phrase was ‘I do it myself!!! Exclamations all hers.) And since it’s completely cordless — the battery lasts about 8 hours of streaming or offline playtime — it’s great for long car rides.
“I got the idea for the Jooki when I had to take my phone out for the fifth time,” laughs Theo Marescaux, Founder, “to play the same song over again for my 3-year-old daughter. At home all our music is digital and our kids lost the ability to independently explore music and stories. When I was their age, I could just put a CD or cassette on. That freedom and charm of physical interaction with media has largely disappeared.”
Brilliant, right? We asked CEO Christine Brendle what innovations the Jooki team was working on.“We are adding features: connecting Bluetooth headset (delivery in the new few weeks) – working on a few accessories…
But MOST importantly: developing Jooki Play the first audio streaming services dedicated to children. The first version to soft launch before the end of the year
This is where we are putting a lot of efforts: the curation of a vast library of popular music and audiobooks organized with young children (and their busy parents) in mind to inspire and engage (no screen in sight.”The basic gift package which includes the Jooki player and two tokens is $129. You can also add different sets — for instance a set of 5 Jooki figurines for $34, This is bound to be popular for the holidays so we’d advise parents to act fast!
by Evan Hosie
