Zenimal Kids 2.0 review

Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness, and, amongst neurodiverse children, the number of kids who also have anxiety is staggering. Linked to anger, irritability, trouble sleeping, and even stomach aches, childhood anxiety can alter healthy childhood development.

Yet, despite this unfortunate struggle, there is hope for calming anxiety in children, and it comes in the form of a tiny teal turtle called a Zenimal. (available at Amazon) A meditation gadget for children, Zenimal teaches kids how to develop mindfulness and tune out their anxiety.

As the mother of a son who has autism and anxiety, I know mindfulness really isn’t his forte, and the thought of him quietly sitting down and listening to a turtle seemed comical at best. But knowing that psychologists regularly suggest meditation as a therapeutic tool for neurodivergent children who have anxiety, I was willing to give it a try. Did Zenimal help? Keep reading this review to find out.

What is Zenimal?

“Zenimal was founded to transform lives by offering tools to help people lead a healthier, more joyful life,” the Zenimal website explains. Simplistic in its design and function, Zenimal is pre-programmed with nine guided meditations, ranging from 3-15 minutes long, with each meditation aimed at helping the user achieve a different goal. Meditations played through speakers on the turtle itself, which means the device is screen free and no additional headset is required. (It does have a headphone jack, however, for children who prefer private meditation.)

Meditation categories include:

• Relaxation
• Creativity and Inspiration
• Stillness
• Sleep
• Empathy
• Gratitude
• Feelings and awareness
• Warmth and restoration
  
• Breathing exercises

Featuring a soft silicone turtle-shaped cover, adjustable volume, and battery indicator light, each Zenimal comes with a rechargeable battery, a charging cord, and QuickStart guide.

Separate models designed for adults and children are available, but this review focuses on the Zenimal Kids variant, which retails for around $70.

Setting up Zenimal

Zenimal is literally the easiest electronic device I have ever set up, because it requires no setup at all. Fully functioning right out of the box, the power button is located on the turtle’s head, between two volume control buttons, with the meditation choice buttons running circular along its shell.

My device arrived charged, but, for continued use, the device charges using the included micro-USB cord that can be attached to most wall phone chargers.

To start meditation, all you have to do is push the power button and then select the meditation choice you’d like to listen to.

What I like about Zenimal

An innovative product, Zenimal offers several unique benefits. These are a few of my favorites.

Tangible relaxation

Although there are a number of meditation options available on the market, the tangibility of the Zenimal went a long way toward helping my son. Having the ability to hold the Zenimal turtle in his hands prepared him to settle his mind, which, in turn, helped slow his heart rate to build the necessary mind-body relaxation connection. I also appreciated that, unlike a cell phone or tablet that’s being used as a meditation tool, you can physically hold the Zenimal without being enticed by other content.

Empowering

A tool that kids can utilize when they feel anxious, sad, or in need of emotional grounding, Zenimal meditation sessions are very clearly built for kids, with kid-friendly cues and constant words of encouragement such as, “Thank you for being mindful today, and remember, you’re a great kid.”

Encouraging and empowering, this simple phrase teaches children that they not only have the power to feel and understand their own emotions, but also the ability to calm them when needed. My son really resonated with being reminded that, even when he may feel chaos around him, he still can make the choice to exert control over his feelings.

Easy to use and super portable

Zenimal has an unabashedly simplistic design, which means it’s super-easy for kids to use, even for children who may have limitations in their cognitive functions. Over the course of testing, I found myself asking my son to go take a minute with the Zenimal to calm himself down, and I loved that I didn’t need to set anything up in the middle of his meltdown.

Another great feature is that, because Zenimal doesn’t require Wi-Fi and is so small in size, it’s incredibly portable and easy to toss in a bag for kids who may need help regulating emotions while they are out and about.

What I don’t like about Zenimal

Although Zenimal is an effective product, it has a few limitations that I wasn’t a huge fan of.

Limited meditations

Considering that there are a vast number of mindfulness and meditation apps available, the fact that Zenimal arrives with just nine meditations feels a bit lackluster considering its base price. Although Zenimal does offer additional meditation collection and memory cards for $19.99 each, including a sleep collection, you do have to consider that as a possible additional cost.

Limited language options

Zenimal comes pre-loaded with English meditations, and beyond that, there is only one Spanish meditation card that can be purchased separately for $19.99. There are no other meditation languages available. However, it is worth noting that the Spanish expansion card does work for the kids’ version and hopefully this is something that Zenimal plans to expand on in the future.

Is Zenimal worth it?

There’s no doubt that kids today suffer from increased levels of anxiety, and Zenimal tries to change that. It’s easy to use, empowering, and fully portable. I also love that, because Zenimal is not connected to a phone or a tablet, there’s no enticement for kids with sensory-seeking behavior to use this toy to seek out further stimulation.

Watching my son learn to simply sit back and power down his racing brain, I can confidently say that Zenimal provides a calming benefit when dealing with anxiety. However, the product’s limited number of meditations did, over time, hinder my son’s desire to use the Zenimal.

I would recommend Zenimal as a solid introductory meditation device. Zenimal offers a great first step in learning the basics of meditation practice, while also providing a tangible tool capable of curbing anxiety. However, once your child has mastered the available meditations, you might want to consider supplementing or transitioning them to a larger app-based library of meditation services to keep things fresh without additional cost.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.