We know: a smartphone in a child’s hand is not good. Neither for his health, nor for his development. Of numerous studies attest to this. Created by three mothers, Tikino is a small projector of edutainment content to free themselves from this type of screen and accompany 3-10 year olds in a universe where the imagination takes back its rights. Smartphone in standby, 20 minutes tested it and fell back into childhood
The end of looping content
Once upon a time, there were Laurène Altmayer, Aliénor Bouvier-Lewi and Thiphaine Le Roy, three entrepreneurial mothers determined to take the smartphone by the horns.
Goal: to create an alternative to electronic screens so popular with children. With dedicated, short, edutainment content. With an experience that is also immersive, but in large format, during which toddlers do not remain inactive, their gaze glued to sometimes uncontrolled content broadcast in a loop. Without a smartphone. Without blue light. Without waves. With a projector, therefore. And the Tikino projector from our cake moms has some great virtues.
An application to select your content
Developed and manufactured in France, plump, running on mains or battery, with a small carrying handle, integrating two speakers, a headphone jack and a few backlit keys, the device is simplicity itself. But well thought out. It sits on a table, on the floor, on a bed, and can project its contents onto a white wall, a sheet, or even a ceiling.
Content that parents can select through the Tikino application. If the projector natively integrates around ten and can be used straight out of the box, its concept (and undoubtedly its economic model) is also to be powered with programs offered in a blind dedicated. Like with a digital book. Tikino’s recent association with Bayard Jeunesse and Milan, two very fine publishing houses, opens up the possibilities for quality content. Folimage, Didier Jeunesse and other partners are also part of the adventure.
From storytelling to yoga session
Classified by age (from 3 to 10 years old), by theme (classic tales revisited, tales of the world, nursery rhymes, lullabies, meditation, yoga, etc.) and sold from 3.99 euros, these programs can be purchased online, since a smartphone, a tablet or a computer, through the account you have created. They automatically synchronize via Wifi with the projector.
No worries: a button on the device allows you to cut the projo from the network and ensure it operates without waves. Beforehand, however, you will have to be a little patient: updating Tikino to transfer a pack of three programs that we purchased for our tests still took a few long minutes…
Often wonders for all the senses
Warning: here, no Paw Patrol or Little World of Trucks to run in a loop to keep our toddlers occupied, like on YouTube, but mainly the adaptation of illustrated works with sometimes summary animation, a narrator, music and a limited duration (from 3 to 17 minutes depending on the programs).
And often, wonders for all the senses. Example with this superb Sleeping Beauty narrated by Natalie Dessay and illustrated by Clémence Pollet. Or this short film called The tree with images of infinite poetry. We have also discovered yoga sessions, which invite children to move. And surprise: Once upon a time there was a manAlbert Barillé’s stainless series to learn our History invites itself to the casting with a few episodes! But cartoons are extremely rare here. The idea is more like opening an animated book. Content to learn English is also in store.
Up to two hundred programs
Our tests of Tikino reveal a device perfectly calibrated for the youngest, who can be independent in its use, such as falling asleep to a nursery rhyme. But a family session around this mini-home cinema brings a singular pleasure by sharing emotions.
Be careful, due to lack of sufficient light, it is imperative to make the room completely dark where Tikino will be used. Also allow a distance of at least 1.70 meters to obtain a very clear image (even if the camera’s optics have a focusing wheel). Its battery life is one hour. More so if you use it in audio mode only, by cutting the image with a simple cursor. Unlike some digital storytellers, it is finally impossible to integrate your own content into the projector. Tikino, which has an 8 GB memory, can consume up to 200 programs, with a catalog updated every month.
Faced with smartphones, Tikino, which is sold for 199 euros, reinvents the magic lantern of yesteryear, or the small 8 mm projector that fifty-somethings used in their childhood to project Disney reels. The little projo today tells another story. Thanks to him, the praise of slowness hangs on the walls (or ceiling) of a child’s room. Sweetness and reverie too.