Help with activating your child’s experience

Setting up for the first time

A grown-up should do this part before giving the box to the child. It takes about ten minutes, and it's worth doing somewhere with good wifi.

Check you have the right package. Scan the QR code in the letter that came with the box. You'll be asked for your child's first name and the package number printed on the box — we check they match.
Install the app. The same page links to the Joy & Wonder app on the App Store.
Let the story download. The app loads the artwork and animations onto the device. This can take several minutes and needs wifi — let it finish before you close the app.
Now for the good part. Give your child the box and let them take it from here. They'll open it, find the letter waiting inside, and scan the code on their journal to begin.

Keep the letter. It has the package number and the reinstall code. You'll need them if the device is ever lost or replaced, and to ask us anything about your child's information.

How the journal works

Your child points the camera at a page and the illustrations come to life. Scanning a page starts the clock on the next phase of the story — sometimes a few minutes, sometimes a few hours, sometimes a few days, depending on where they are. Some phases are a single page, some are several.

The story moves at your child's pace, in response to what they do. There is nothing to keep up with and nothing to miss. If they can't pick up the journal for a week or a month, the next part is simply waiting when they come back.

If something isn't working

The page won't come to life

Make sure the whole page is in view and the book is lying reasonably flat.
Try more light. Dim rooms make it hard for the camera to recognise the artwork.
Avoid glare — direct lamplight or sun on a glossy page can confuse it.
Check the app has permission to use the camera: iPhone or iPad Settings → Joy & Wonder → Camera.

The next part hasn't opened yet

The story opens in phases, on a timer that starts when your child scans. Some open within minutes, others after a few days — so a wait is usually the story working as intended rather than a fault. If you think something is genuinely stuck, connect to wifi, reopen the app, and call us if it still looks wrong.

We lost the device, or got a new one

Scan the QR code in your letter to reinstall the experience, including your child's personalised opening video. If you no longer have the letter, call us with the package number from the box, or ask your Starlight Child Life Specialist to get in touch on your behalf.

The download keeps failing

It's a large download. Use wifi rather than cellular, keep the app open while it runs, and make sure the device has a couple of gigabytes free. Hospital wifi is often restricted — if you can, try again at home.

Your child's privacy

We receive your child's first name and nothing else about them. No last name, no age, no diagnosis, nothing about their care. We hold no contact details for you at all.

There is no advertising in the app, nothing is sold or shared with advertisers, and what the camera sees never leaves the device.

You can ask us at any time to show you what we hold, stop collecting anything further, or delete it. Quote the package number from your box or letter so we can find the right records. Full detail is in our privacy policy.

Contact us

We're a small team. If you call outside working hours, leave a message — we return every call within two business days.

Phone (925) 239-8908
Email support@joyandwonder.com
Privacy privacy@joyandwonder.com

You can also reach us through your Starlight Child Life Specialist, who can pass anything on.