Joon is an ADHD app that helps parents motivate their kids to practice responsibility and develop healthier habits. Joon motivates kids by having virtual pets to raise and care for, along with coins earned for completing “quests” or tasks assigned by parents. Joon costs $12.99 monthly or $89.99 annually, with both plans featuring a seven-day free trial.
Pros & Cons of the Joon App
The Joon ADHD app makes habit-building fun and a holistic approach to your child’s well-being. There are also regularly added new features, great customer service, and it’s easy set-up. However, there is no online gameplay or multiplayer gaming and it is optimized for kids 6-12 years old.
Joon App Key Takeaways
- New updates are added often to improve the app experience
- Improves communication among parents and children
- Helps to keep kids motivated and feeling empowered to be more independent
- Makes household management easier for parents
- Helps you understand your child’s executive functioning with weekly check-ins
Final Verdict on the Joon App
Overall, the Joon App is worth it for any family that needs help with time management, organization, and day-to-day tasks. Joon offers a free seven-day trial and does great at supporting parents in getting started with assigning quests to their children. Joon App is a better choice than traditional family management apps for interactive games, virtual pet care, and rewards. As a therapist, and someone also diagnosed with ADHD, I recommend this app for parents with children who have ADHD.
What Is the Joon App?
Joon is an ADHD app for kids offering gamification to help with day-to-day tasks, chores, and self-care. The app gives kids a pet, called a Doter, that they have to raise and care for by earning rewards for completing tasks, called quests, assigned by their parents. Joon costs $12.99 monthly or $89.99 annually, with both plans featuring a seven-day free trial.
In order to use Joon, you must download two apps: the parent app (Joon) and the child-facing app (Joon Pet Game). It is also important to keep in mind that having another device for your child to use the Joon Pet Game is more effective. As of now, there are no multiplayer options, but your entire family will share an “Overworld” and your child can visit a plaza where other children’s Doters are found but is more of a visual space versus an online chat space.
During the seven-day free trial, you can assign and approve seven quests per day to your child. Other features include the “Guide” tab where you can find parent resources, your child’s executive functioning check-in, and suggestions on other quests you can assign. There is a “Family” tab where you review your child’s progress on their quests, behavior reports, and developed skill areas. This tab also lets you manage your child’s game settings, you can send personalized messages, manage game limits, and create custom rewards.
The Joon Pet Game is the child-facing app and requires a login code from the parent app. Without this code, your child will not be able to use the Joon Pet Game. You can run both the parent app and the child app on one device, but the program works better with two devices. Once you have your child’s app connected they will be prompted to hatch their first egg which introduces them to their “Doter.” There is also a text-to-speech feature that can read things aloud to your child.
Your child can access their quest and rewards in three ways: going to the message board in their “Overworld,” in their “Care” screen and clicking the checklist icon, or tapping on their “Doter” anywhere within their game and clicking on the checklist icon labeled “Quests.” Once your child completes a quest, the Joon parent app will receive a notification that your child has completed a quest and they are ready for review. Your child will not earn their rewards until approved within the parent app, and trust me, they will remind you to do this if they want to keep earning coins to care for their pet.
As a therapist, reward systems and gamification are significantly helpful for children with ADHD and adults with ADHD, whether they have been given a formal diagnosis or not. Studies also find that the repetitiveness of the conventional task combined with the suggested gamification techniques might help in influencing task adherence and reduce the abandonment of their tasks or app.1, 2, 3
As someone who has also been diagnosed with ADHD, I cannot wait until the Joon developers release a version for adults. For now, I keep both apps on my phone and use them interchangeably. I have always found that gamifying tasks give me little boosts of dopamine that help keep me motivated and more consistent in reaching my goals. When I was younger, I used video games as a way to cope with life stressors and socialize with others, but I wish I had had an app like Joon instead.
What Do Parents Need to Know Before Signing Up?
Parents need to know that they are ultimately in charge of the Joon app and need to put in the time to assign and approve quests. The app developers have made understanding how to use the app extremely clear and their customer service is available to answer any questions you may have.
As a reminder, Joon is not a replacement for therapy, nor does it market itself to be. Joon should be used as a tool to develop and enhance executive functioning for children and improve household management tasks such as chores or morning and nighttime routines.
Are There Any Potential Problems With the Joon App?
Aside from the annual cost for the game, parents and children were concerned about Joon’s lifespan and ability to keep a child’s attention and interests. When I spoke to co-founders, Kevin Bunarjo and Brad Brenner, they are actively making new updates to enhance the features, add more items to the shop, and recently allowed for custom rewards to be earned. Custom rewards allow for your child to complete more quests over a longer period of time if it is a “higher valued” item, or it can be easier to earn rewards that are specific to your child.
How Much Does the Joon App Cost?
Joon costs $12.99 monthly or $89.99 annually, with both plans offering a seven-day free trial. The only limitation during the free trial is the number of quests that can be approved. Reduced rates are available for families that are in need, but you must contact Joon directly to learn more.
How to Get Started with the Joon App
Getting started with the Joon app is as easy as downloading the Joon app from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or by clicking “Download App” directly on the Joon Website. Joon also has a user tutorial that makes getting started super easy.
To get started, follow these easy steps:
- Create a parent account after downloading the app and answer basic information about yourself and a brief questionnaire to learn more about your family’s goals.
- Next download the Joon Pet Game by either sending a link to your child’s device or downloading it on your own.
- Link accounts with the Login Code provided in the parent app.
- Choose which subscription plan you want, with the monthly or annual plan.
Joon App Key Features
Joon ADHD app offers interactive games, progress tracking, virtual pet care, customizable difficulty levels, and rewards. Parents can adjust game difficulty and the reward system reinforces positive behavior. Joon ADHD app provides a fun way for children with ADHD to improve their skills. Joon costs $12.99 monthly or $89.99 annually, with both plans offering a seven-day free trial.
Virtual Pet Care and Interactive Games
The Joon ADHD app includes a virtual pet, called a Doter, that children can care for and nurture by completing tasks and earning rewards. This feature adds an element of fun and responsibility to the app, encouraging children to stay engaged and motivated. The app offers a variety of interactive games designed to improve executive functioning skills such as attention, memory, and planning.
Personalized Feedback and Progress Tracking
Joon provides personalized feedback to each child, allowing them to see their progress over time. As a parent, you can even write your own messages of encouragement, which can help improve your relationship. This feature helps to motivate children and keep them engaged in the learning process. There is also a weekly check-in for parents to complete focusing on the following skill areas: teamwork, focus, kindness, stamina, knowledge, and strength.
Customizable Difficulty Level and Frequency
The app allows parents to adjust the difficulty level of the games to match their child’s individual needs and abilities. You can also choose which child these quests belong to, and how often they need to be completed.
Rewards and Incentives
Joon offers a reward system that encourages children to complete tasks and progress through the app. This feature helps to reinforce positive behavior and can be a motivating factor for children with ADHD. It is important to note there are no in-app purchases that require the use of real money, outside of paying for the subscription.
Who Is the Joon App Right For?
Joon is a good fit for younger kids (6-12), children who have been diagnosed with or experience symptoms related to ADHD, and families with communication or relationship challenges.
Kids Ages 6-12
As a parent, you may feel burnt out and tired of asking or reminding your child to do the same tasks over and over again. With Joon, you can assign these tasks and have a reward system all in one. This helps you free up the mental load that comes with keeping tabs on everything that needs to get done. This also allows your child to develop healthy habits in a fun, interactive way.
Children Diagnosed With ADHD
Through speaking with Joon’s co-founders, only about 25% of its users report not having symptoms related to ADHD. While anyone can use the app, it is mainly designed for children with ADHD symptoms to help teach skills like organization, time management, and healthy habits related to hygiene, sleep, and eating, otherwise referred to as executive function. About 90% of Joon’s users complete all tasks assigned due to improved motivation and focus.
Families With Communication or Relationship Challenges
For some families, chores, routines, and being asked to do something can become a nightmare. Some children with ADHD can become combative and defiant when asked by a parent or teacher to do things they don’t necessarily want to do. These behaviors are especially true for children diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Joon helps, in a sense, create a buffer between parents and their children, making completing things fun and rewarding, making it a win-win.
Who May Want an Alternative to the Joon App?
Joon is a great app for children 6-12 years old, but teens and adults may find it too childish. Additionally, if your child or teen already has healthy, established routines Joon may not be as beneficial. Joon is also not intended as therapy or coaching and families seeking this type of care will need to find an alternative.
Teens and Adults With ADHD
While Joon may appeal to some adults with ADHD, like myself, others may find apps such as Habitica or Finch more their speed. Adults with ADHD may find apps that are more targeted to specific executive functioning such as: waking up earlier, time management, organization, or self-care.
For more information about apps that are a good fit for teens and adults, you can read our Best Mental Health Apps review.
Those With Healthy, Established Routines
While Joon is great at establishing and creating healthy routines, if you already have a system that works, Joon may not be beneficial. While it can be fun for your child to earn rewards and care for their virtual pets, it may feel like a burden to a parent to have to set up and consistently review quests.
Your Child Needs Therapy Or Behavior Coaching
Joon is not intended to be a replacement for therapy or behavioral coaching for children with ADHD. If you would prefer in-person care for your child, you can explore an online therapist directory to find a provider near you. If you’d prefer the convenience and ease of online therapy, exploring our best online therapy options for teens is another option.
What Users Are Saying About the Joon App
The Joon App has a 4.7 star rating from 4,000+ reviews in the Apple App Store and no reviews have been written on Google Play Store as of yet due to still being considered in development, however, there have already been over 5,000 downloads via Google Play Store. Joon ADHD app has received a lot of positive feedback, but some users have reported issues.
Engaging and Interactive
Many parents have raved about how helpful Joon App has been in helping their children become more motivated to get things done. Some parents even said their kids were so motivated they were asking for things to do! There are also some mini games to play and ways to care for pets or build your campsite in which earned rewards can be applied.
Personalized Feedback and Progress Tracking
It is helpful to be able to have progress tracking that can show areas of improvement and areas that continue to need attention. Each week the Joon parent app will receive a weekly check-in for each child. Under “Guide” there will sometimes have recommendations on which Quests to assign next, which act as personalized feedback based on your family’s goals.
Too Expensive
Many of the 1-star negative reviews were related to “sticker shock” and feeling as if the price is too high ($89.99 annually or $12.99 monthly). Most negative reviews were expressing feelings of being scammed and pricing was unclear. Parents were disappointed and frustrated to find out the price after completing the questionnaire about their child.
Joon App Vs KidHab
Joon ADHD app and KidHab are both apps for children with ADHD that use gamification and provide personalized feedback. Joon ADHD app focuses on improving executive function skills while KidHab aims to improve social skills and emotional regulation.
Joon is designed for children aged 6-12, while KidHab is for ages 4-8 and is entirely free. Joon ADHD app offers a free trial and a premium version with a subscription fee, while KidHab has a fixed level of difficulty for each exercise. Parents should choose the app based on their child’s specific needs, such as focusing more on executive function skills or improving social skills and emotional regulation.
To learn more about KidHab, you can visit the KidHab website.
History of Joon App
I had the pleasure of meeting with Joon App co-founders, Kevin Bunarjo and Brad Brenner. Joon ADHD app was created in 2018 by a team of neuroscientists, game designers, and developers.4 The app is designed to improve executive functioning skills in children with ADHD, with personalized feedback and progress tracking. The team continues to update and improve the app regularly and their latest funding was raised on March 31, 2022 from a seed round.5
FAQ’s
Below are some commonly asked questions about the Joon app.
Is the Joon App Free?
No, Joon is not free but does come with a seven-day free trial.
How Does My Child Access the Joon App?
Your child will acces the Joon app by downloading the Joon Pet Game. Parents will connect the app by linking accounts with the Login Code provided in the parent app. There is no limit to how many kids accounts can be created or linked to your account.
How Do I Cancel My Joon App Subscription?
To cancel your Joon App subscription, click on the “Family” tab, then select “Manage Account” followed by “Manage Subscription” and click “Cancel Subscription.” Then, you will be redirected to your iOS Subscription Settings within the iOS settings app to cancel the active trial. Make sure to hit cancel once redirected, otherwise your trial will not be officially cancelled. You can also email [email protected] for any questions about your account.
Does Joon App Offer Refunds?
No, the Joon App does not offer refunds, however, you may be able to contact them about your concern at [email protected]. Please visit Joon’s Privacy Policy for more information.
