The Juegaterapia Foundation, a solidary institution that supports children undergoing cancer treatment through play, and Disney, launch Baby Pelón Princesas Disney dolls inspired by the Disney Princesses and deduct the proceeds from sales and revert to the construction of a movie theater in the Pediatrics Service from the Francisco Gentil Portuguese Institute of Oncology in Lisbon (IPO Lisbon), similarly to what has already happened at the Hospital de Almería (Spain).

The Baby Pelones are a collection of 22 baby dolls generated by the Juegaterapia Foundation as a symbol of the institution’s support for children with cancer.

The Baby Pelones are inspired by children fighting cancer and all the dolls have a headscarf in their honor. These cute dolls cost €14.95 and can be purchased in Portugal, at El Corte Inglés, Toys R’Us, Gocco and also online at Amazon, Women`s Secret and Juguetilândia.

Campaign portrays children as Disney princesses

The launch of the new Baby Pelón Princesas Disney is supported by an awareness campaign that seeks to highlight the singularities of children with cancer: courage, strength, audacity, sensitivity and originality are what Princesses Disney and Sofia, a Corina have in common. Maria, Iria, Carla, Daniela and Lúcia, girls currently undergoing treatment.

Through the story of these children and the image of the ‘Princesses’, founded by Disney, the Juegaterapia Foundation intends to underline the courage and strength of mind of young people who are diagnosed with cancer every year.

The campaign’s visual element is a mirror in which these girls look at each other, recognize themselves in their hairless image and not only accept each other, but also affirm how brave and strong they are, like all Disney princesses.

Disney princesses share values ​​with children with cancer and are a reflection of their qualities and how to enhance them: they are brave, warriors, resilient.

“The concept is based on real stories”, says Mónica Esteban, President of the Juegaterapia Foundation. “Families tell us how difficult it is when their children’s hair falls out, especially for girls. It affects their mood as well as their recovery, so we wanted to do something to reverse the situation. We want to change history.”

For Filomena Pereira, director of the Pediatrics Service at IPO Lisboa, who deals with these “real stories” on a daily basis, “playing is the most serious activity there is. There is no place in it for deception and dissimulation; rather for the encouragement, the surrender and the expression of the inner reality. Playing, we recycle as emotions and the need to know and reinvent the world, ourselves and our relationship with it”, he says.

Baby Pelones are “the most beautiful dolls in the world”

The Baby Pelones are an original idea of ​​the Juegaterapia Foundation and are “the most beautiful dolls in the world” because they are inspired by children who are fighting the disease, paying homage to each one of them.

All Baby Pelones have a headscarf, with drawings by friends of the Foundation, such as Alejandro Sanz, Shakira, Laura Pausini, Richard Gere, David Bisbal and some of the children being treated.

Since its launch in 2014, approximately one and a half million Baby Pelones have been sold. The proceeds from sales of Baby Pelones revert to the development of various humanization projects in the hospitals where the children are treated.

Under the motto “Chemotherapy playing starts to fly”, the Juegaterapia Foundation aims to make these children happier throughout the course of treatment and illness, promoting the construction of playful spaces, games and other activities that help them forget , as much as possible, the disease and recovering.

Science studies play in the fight against childhood cancer

A scientific study promoted by the Juegaterapia Foundation and carried out at the Hospital La Paz, in Madrid, indicated that children undergoing chemotherapy treatments feel less pain when playing with video game consoles.

According to the study, released in January 2021, a pain scale reduces an average of 14% and the doses of morphine administered drop 20%. Furthermore, the parasympathetic system, which is responsible for the body’s recovery, is activated by 14%.

The main conclusion of this study is that the use of video games favors the well-being of these children.