No progress
I had high hopes for Smile Zemi at the beginning, and initially, my son was making steady progress. He used to spend around 30 minutes a day on his lessons, which felt meaningful and productive.
However, over time, he figured out a workaround—he started redoing completed lessons just to earn his daily star. Now he can complete 6 lessons in about 5 minutes without actually learning anything new. At first, I thought he was doing great and staying consistent, but then I noticed his grades starting to decline.
That’s when we realized what was happening. Unfortunately, the system doesn’t seem to recognize or prevent this kind of behavior. For a program designed for kids, it should be smart enough to detect when a child is gaming the system instead of truly learning.
Overall, it started strong, but this loophole makes it hard to trust the progress it reports.
However, over time, he figured out a workaround—he started redoing completed lessons just to earn his daily star. Now he can complete 6 lessons in about 5 minutes without actually learning anything new. At first, I thought he was doing great and staying consistent, but then I noticed his grades starting to decline.
That’s when we realized what was happening. Unfortunately, the system doesn’t seem to recognize or prevent this kind of behavior. For a program designed for kids, it should be smart enough to detect when a child is gaming the system instead of truly learning.
Overall, it started strong, but this loophole makes it hard to trust the progress it reports.
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Warning to Parents Considering Smile Zemi (Japan/US Program) – Please Read My Experience First
I wanted to share my experience with Smile Zemi because I REALLY wish someone had warned me before I subscribed. This is honestly the worst customer service experience I’ve ever had with a children’s learning program.
I signed up, paid the subscription (about $100 upfront with a $1200/year plan), and received the tablet — which arrived completely defective. It never turned on, never worked, nothing. I contacted customer service immediately and then waited almost an entire week just to get a response.
When someone finally replied, instead of helping, they told me that I need to pay out of pocket to ship the DEFECTIVE tablet back. Not only is that unreasonable, but the “free shipping” was only free because I paid for the subscription, not because they were doing me a favor. I also explained that I shouldn’t have to pay to return something that arrived broken. Their response? Repeating the same thing over and over: I must pay to ship it back.
I asked to speak to a manager, and they told me that management “doesn’t do phone calls”, and refused to escalate the issue at all. So basically… there is no way to speak to anyone higher up, and no one cares whether the product works or not. I’ve been completely stuck with no support, no help, and a device that has never turned on.
Between the defective tablet, the long delays, the refusal to escalate issues, and the demand that I pay to return a product that NEVER worked, I decided to cancel the service entirely.
So if you’re a parent thinking about Smile Zemi — especially in the U.S. — PLEASE be careful. The idea of the program is great, but their customer service and policies are absolutely terrible. I don’t recommend them at all after this experience.
I signed up, paid the subscription (about $100 upfront with a $1200/year plan), and received the tablet — which arrived completely defective. It never turned on, never worked, nothing. I contacted customer service immediately and then waited almost an entire week just to get a response.
When someone finally replied, instead of helping, they told me that I need to pay out of pocket to ship the DEFECTIVE tablet back. Not only is that unreasonable, but the “free shipping” was only free because I paid for the subscription, not because they were doing me a favor. I also explained that I shouldn’t have to pay to return something that arrived broken. Their response? Repeating the same thing over and over: I must pay to ship it back.
I asked to speak to a manager, and they told me that management “doesn’t do phone calls”, and refused to escalate the issue at all. So basically… there is no way to speak to anyone higher up, and no one cares whether the product works or not. I’ve been completely stuck with no support, no help, and a device that has never turned on.
Between the defective tablet, the long delays, the refusal to escalate issues, and the demand that I pay to return a product that NEVER worked, I decided to cancel the service entirely.
So if you’re a parent thinking about Smile Zemi — especially in the U.S. — PLEASE be careful. The idea of the program is great, but their customer service and policies are absolutely terrible. I don’t recommend them at all after this experience.
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My 7 year old LOVES IT
We love Smile ZEMI! My 7-year-old, Luna, has always been the youngest in her class and used to get reports saying she was below average. We started Smile ZEMI in August, and now she’s above her class!
She’s finally enjoying learning — something I’d never seen before. The lessons are fun and motivating, and she actually looks forward to her study time. I can’t recommend it enough — it’s truly changed how she feels about school. 💕
She’s finally enjoying learning — something I’d never seen before. The lessons are fun and motivating, and she actually looks forward to her study time. I can’t recommend it enough — it’s truly changed how she feels about school. 💕
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