Zoma Zoo is a game designed for children who need daily growth hormone treatment. The first month of therapy is often the hardest. Children feel anxious. Parents are under stress. Even though the injection itself causes little pain, the fear around it can be overwhelming. We learned that the key was not only to support the child but also to reassure the parents.
Together with Ferring, Paul Bierhaus, and my former partner Mark van Kuik under the name LAPP, we created a simple yoga game. Each day offers a five-minute exercise to practice slow breathing. Parents and children do the movements together.
When the injection is given on the exhale, it hurts the least. The characters in the game grow along with the family. A small mouse slowly turns into an elephant. The exercises are easy to follow and create a calm moment before bedtime. Families told us that what once was panic became a routine. Children would run upstairs to do yoga and take their medicine.
Zoma Zoo turned a moment of fear into a shared practice of trust.
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